Former Sunderland favourite Kevin Phillips believes that the club need to identify a new number nine in the summer as he backed Will Grigg to leave the Stadium of Light.
The Northern Ireland international was brought to Wearside last year and was expected to be the man to fire the club back to the second tier, however it hasn't worked out at all. In 40 league games spread across the past two seasons he has managed just five league goals, with Grigg having just one strike to his name in the current campaign.
Therefore, fans are keen for the striker to move on and Phillips told Football Insider that a move would suit all parties and he also made it clear that finding a prolific replacement has to be the main area for the recruitment team to focus on.
"It will be the priority for a lot of clubs! They are the people that get you promoted. I am pretty sure Will Grigg will move on because of the finances of his contract.
"Charlie Wyke is good at what he does and Lafferty did well when he came in but you want somebody in there that is a poacher. They need that fox in the box but they are not easy to find. I would imagine that they will be looking to try and get someone who fits that mould."
The Black Cats will be spending a third successive year in the third tier after the League One season was cut short with Phil Parkinson's men outside the top six.
The verdict
This is going to be a very busy summer for the Black Cats and there's no denying that they need to bring in a striker because scoring goals has been a major problem since Josh Maja left in truth.
Everyone expected Grigg to be the man to replace the youngster but for whatever reason it just hasn't worked out at all.
So, as Phillips states, a move in the coming months would benefit all parties on that front and a quality replacement needs to be found.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.