Sunderland boss Jack Ross has said he wants answers on his three transfer targets in the next couple of days as he shapes his squad for the coming season.

The former St Mirren manager has placed bids for Mo Eisa, George Evans and Charlie Wyke this week, but has not yet heard back as to whether the players will be at the Stadium of Light next season.

Speaking after the Black Cats beat Grimsby last night, Ross revealed he is keen to tie the deals up as quickly as possible in the wake of Wazib Khazri's switch to St Etienne.

“I would prefer it if we knew one way or another in that period (the next couple of days),” Ross told the Northern Echo. “We’re already up to 18 or 19 days before the start of the season and hopefully this time next year I’ll have had a full pre-season without any of this."

Lynden Gooch gave the Black Cats a 1-0 victory against the Mariners, but Ross was more focused on tying up the impending deals as quickly as possible.

“It was always going to be the case that we were chasing our tails a little bit, but we don’t want to keep having to do that. I think there’s a recognition that if the players that we’ve identified can’t come, then it’s important that we know that quite quickly so we can move on and get as much in place as we can a week or ten days before the Charlton game."

Wyke limped off after just eight minutes of  Bradford's 3-2 defeat against Sheffield United, whilst Eisa bagged for Cheltenham as they faced Reading U23s behind closed doors.

The Verdict

The time is ticking away and now Ross has a war chest from which to build his squad, he needs to move quickly.

It is typical of the transfer market that he had to wait until his player moved on before he could splash the cash. Now, urgency takes over as he doesn't want to miss out on his main targets.

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