Sunderland are likely to keep Chris Maguire at the Stadium of Light for another season with the Northern Echo reporting that they will trigger the 12 month extension clause in his contract.
At last, Black Cats fans have something to smile about. It has been a horrible couple of weeks on Wearside after all.
Sunderland were just three points off the automatic promotion positions when the 2019/20 season was put on ice. And, now that the campaign was been decided on a points per game basis, Phil Parkinson’s side have been cruelly consigned to another year of League One football.
As such, any hopes they might have had of keeping the likes of Jon McLaughlin around appear to have gone up in smoke.
The veteran goalkeeper will join Blackburn Rovers on a free next month, with youngsters Bali Mumba and Benji Kimpioka also closing in on the exit.
Duncan Watmore, Alim Ozturk and Tom Flanagan could follow, while Kyle Lafferty has already bid farewell.
At least Maguire appears to be sticking around.
An explosive if erratic winger with an eye for the spectacular, Maguire is one of the few Championship-quality forwards in Parkinson’s squad.
He produced 11 goals and 13 assists during the 2019/20 season and you would imagine that such numbers would have caught the eye of clubs higher up the Football League.
Fortunately, there is a one-year extension clause in Maguire’s contract – one Sunderland are planning to trigger as soon as possible.
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