Lee Johnson has revealed that Will Grigg wants to leave Sunderland for family reasons.

The Black Cats striker has endured a mixed time since moving to the Stadium Of Light in 2019 for a League One record transfer fee of £3million.

In that time the 30-year-old has made 62 appearances for the Wearsiders, scoring just six goals in the process.

As a result of falling down the pecking order Grigg was allowed to join MK Dons on loan during the second half of last term where he managed to score eight goals in 20 appearances for the club.

Speculation has been building that the player could be allowed to move on this summer and according to Johnson, it's likely that the player's future could be resolved by the end of the month.

As quoted by Chronicle Live, Johnson said: "Will has made it pretty clear over a period of time that he wanted to get back closer to his family that reside in and around the Midlands area, and in that sense you then have very different agendas.

"Obviously Sunderland's agenda is to create the best possible team for the best possible price; his agenda will be to provide for his family and be as happy as possible but still get paid as much as he possibly can.

"And any other club, a possible suitor, will - like Sunderland - want to get a player in at the lowest possible cost.

"I think things will wash themselves out over the course of the next 18 days between now and the end of the window, but at the same time there is never a grudge held.

"Every individual has got to do all he can to maximise his chances of being in our team."

 

 

The verdict

It seems that Will Grigg's days with Sunderland are numbered.

The striker's move to the Stadium Of Light just hasn't worked out the way that anybody would have liked after moving for a fee of £3million.

It was hoped that the 30-year-old would be the man to fire the Black Csts straight out of League One but instead he's struggled to even establish himself as a first team regular under Phil Parkinson and more recently, Lee Johnson.

Grigg showed during his time with MK Dons that he's more than capable of being a top striker at this level and it seems that a move could be the best thing for all parties.

The challenge for Sunderland now will be finding a club who are willing and able to sign the player.