Sunderland and Swansea City are both locked in a battle to sign Lynden Gooch ahead of next season.

The wing-back featured regularly for the Black Cats as they won promotion from League One in the previous campaign, making 41 appearances, including featuring in the play-offs as the Wearside outfit returned to the second tier.

However, with his contract expiring in the coming weeks, there are doubts about Gooch's future, even though Alex Neil wants to keep the player.

Yet, Preston and Swansea have also been credited with an interest and Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas confirmed that it's now appears to be a straight tussle between the Welsh side and Sunderland for the player.

The 26-year-old is ultimately going to have to make his decision in the coming weeks, with the sides returning to pre-season training later this month ahead of the 22/23 season which begins at the end of July.

If Gooch does leave the Stadium of Light it will end his time with the club after ten years with Sunderland.

The verdict

Gooch has a big call to make on his future and it will be interesting to see what he decides to do but whoever does win the race will be getting a good player.

The American is capable of making a big impact in the Championship and his versatility is an asset that all managers will appreciate.

Given his age, this a crucial contract for the player and you would expect he would want his future to be sorted ahead of returning to pre-season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.