Sunderland favourite Kevin Phillips has urged the club to seal new contracts for Charlie Wyke and Luke O'Nien, and suggested and announcement could be made in the coming weeks.

The Black Cats have been flying in recent months, and with their off-field issues solved following Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' takeover, things are looking positive for the club.

One priority for the owner and Lee Johnson is to sort new deals for the existing squad, with Jack Diamond signing a new contract recently.

And, speaking to Football Insider, Phillips called for top scorer Wyke and O'Nien, who has been starring at centre-back, to be rewarded with long-term deals - and he's hopeful that they will be signed off soon.

"You’d like to think that Diamond signing for three years means those two will follow. Charlie Wyke I’m sure, it doesn’t matter what league you’re in if you’re scoring 30 odd goals there are going to be other clubs sniffing around.

"Luke as well has been fantastic since he moved into that centre-half position. It is very rare that you get the kind of players in your squad that can do that so why would you not tie them down? I expect them to be negotiating behind the scenes now and maybe we’ll get news in the next few weeks."

The verdict

It's a brilliant time to be a Sunderland fan now, with the ownership situation providing real optimism for the future.

Therefore, you can't imagine Wyke or O'Nien would want to go anywhere else, and their importance to the team is clear to see, so sorting new contracts for the pair seems a no-brainer.

As Phillips says, hopefully an announcement arrives soon, but the only focus for the pair will be helping the team to the Championship.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.