This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland are interested in signing Wigan Athletic winger Viv Solomon-Otabor, a report from AllNigeriaSoccer has claimed.

Solomon-Otabor joined Wigan early last season, and scored two goals and provided four assists in 28 league appearances to help the Latics avoid relegation from League One.

The 25-year-old is out of contract at The DW Stadium this summer, and although Wigan have offered him a new contract, this latest update has claimed that Sunderland are one of a number of clubs interested in signing the winger.

So would Solomon-Otabor be a good signing for Sunderland? And is he a player they need to bring to the Stadium of Light?

We put that question to some of our Football League World writers, and here, is a look at what they had to say.

Toby Wilding

I do think that this would be a decent signing for Sunderland to make this summer.

Aiden McGeady was excellent with his creativity for the Blacks Cats last season, but at 35-years-old, he is not going to be to produce that sort of supply forever.

The addition of the 25-year-old Solomon-Otabor could therefore, go some way to offsetting that issue, given he was rather influential in helping Wigan avoid relegation from League One last season with his efforts from out wide.

As well as that, his availability on a free transfer would help Sunderland from a financial perspective, while interest from those other clubs could make this something of a coup for a Black Cats, so I do see this being one worth pursuing for those in charge at The Stadium of Light.

Phil Spencer

This is exactly the sort of signing that Sunderland should be targeting.

It was obviously a very difficult season for Wigan Athletic but Viv Solomon-Otabor was a player who came away with with credit.

The 25-year-old achieved six goal involvements over the campaign, but given that it was his first year back in League One, it wasn't a bad tally.

The winger has previously shown that he has what it takes to succeed in the third tier and given that he's available for nothing, it could be a very shrewd move for the Black Cats.

Lee Johnson will certainly be looking to sign a winger this summer and this is exactly the sort of deal that could really benefit them in the season ahead.

Jordan Rushworth

This is a signing that would make sense for Sunderland in terms of Solomon-Otabor being available on a free transfer this summer and he is a player that has shown that he can be a decent performer at League One level during his one season with Wigan Athletic.

However, Solomon-Otabor is not going to be the player that would take Sunderland to the next level and majorly enhance their chances of finally getting out of League One. The attacker would be someone that would be able to add a few goals and some assists to the side but it would not be a signing to be really excited about.

It does seem like Wigan want to keep hold of him with them being keen for him to sign a new deal, and that perhaps shows that the 25-year-old does have something to offer. While a few of Sunderland’s League One rivals in Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic are also thought to be keen on him so beating them to his signature might be a positive.

On a free transfer, this would not be the worst addition that the Black Cats could make, but it is not that I would be going all out for at this stage and there is likely to be better options out there.