Sunderland owner Stewart Donald has stated that he is close to agreeing a deal that will see fresh investment coming into the League One outfit.

The Black Cats chief has made it clear over the past few months that he would welcome additional funds into the club, providing the deal suited Sunderland.

And, it appears as though that is happening, with Donald telling the Roker Rapport Podcast the latest on the situation.

"We are close. This is really simple and it is one of the biggest tests of Charlie and my ownership of the club, is the deal that we do.

"There have been some very, very decent people who I think, potentially, can do a good job for this football club and I think we are very, very close.

"We’ve got a preferred partner, someone that we think can really do what we have talked about doing and come with us to take the club to the next level. I hope that we can get that deal over the line because I think it’s a hugely exciting deal for all the right reasons."

The Wearside club currently sit 9th in League One and picked up their first victory in the league against Portsmouth today.

The Verdict

This is exciting news for Sunderland fans as it's quite clear that they need investment to help the club move forward.

Of course, there are risks attached to this as they need to know the people providing the investment and the intentions they have but Donald needs to be trusted on this.

Overall, it's a positive for the club and the fans will be interested to see how quickly things develop in the coming days and weeks.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.