Sunderland are still needing to do a lot more work in the transfer window if they are going to be in the best shape possible to start the new League One campaign.

One area in particular that Sunderland are going to have to try and address this summer is upfront with the Black Cats having seen last season’s top scorer Charlie Wyke depart the club for Wigan Athletic.

That is a major blow for Lee Johnson’s side considering that they wanted to keep hold of him and have lost him to a promotion rival.

According to a recent report from The Scottish Sun, the Black Cats are interested in making an ambitious move to try and sign Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths on loan this summer. That comes with the forward is facing an uncertain future following the arrival of Ange Postecoglou at Celtic Park.

It has been reported by the Scottish Sun that Celtic will make a decision over Griffiths’ future imminently and that is one Sunderland will have to keep an eye on.

However, a report from the Daily Record has indicated that the forward is back in the squad at the moment under Postecoglou.

With Sunderland interested in signing Griffiths, we take a look at whether it would be a good move, whether he would start and also what the forward would offer…

Is it a good potential move?

In terms of the sheer quality of player that Sunderland would be getting should Griffiths arrive at the Stadium of Light then it would have to be considered a very good potential move for the Black Cats.

The 30-year-old is a natural goalscorer and he has underlined that by firing in 123 goals in 259 games for the Hoops in his lengthy spell with them.

If given regular game time and also regular service into the penalty area, the forward has proven that he will get goals and he has managed to reach double figures for goals in five of the last eight campaigns.

In League One you can imagine that Griffiths would be able to once again get back on the goal trail having only managed to fire in seven goals in 24 games in all competitions last term.

He needs to get more regular game time next term and is behind Odsonne Edouard in the Celtic squad. Therefore, a move to Sunderland could also be exactly what he needs to get his career back on track and again prove to people what he can bring to the table.

Would he start?

Considering Sunderland have lost their top scorer from last season, Griffiths would surely be almost guaranteed to start for them in the third tier next term if he was to make that move.

The 30-year-old would not be making the move to League One if he was not assured that he would get the game time that he has not been receiving at Celtic Park in recent seasons.

There would be few players in the English third tier who have as good a goalscoring record at the level that Griffiths has performed at and therefore it would be a major surprise if he was not one of the first names on the team sheet at the Stadium of Light.

Lee Johnson has already proven that he can get the very best out of talented forwards in his managerial career to date and he would be an ideal coach to put an arm around the 30-year-old and inspire confidence in him. That would only come about through regular starts.

What does he offer?

One of the most important things that Griffiths will offer Sunderland is the potential to still have a player that is capable of reaching the 15 to 20 goal mark that is needed to challenge for promotion.

That was underlined by him scoring 12 times in just 26 League One games in the 2013/14 campaign in the third tier during his time at Wolves.

Griffiths is a much better player and has a lot more experience to draw upon than he did in his previous season at League One level. Therefore, you would expect him to be even more of a goal threat and be more deadly in front of goal when he gets chances.

The 30-year-old is also a winner and has been used to winning matches consistently and picking up trophies during his time at Celtic. That might prove to be essential for the Black Cats as they aim to finally gain promotion from League One.