Sunderland owner Stewart Donald is in advanced talks about selling the League One club to an American group in a £50m deal.

The Black Cats chief made it clear earlier in the year that he was prepared to welcome fresh investment to help the club, whether that was by selling a minority stake or an outright purchase.

And, The Sun have revealed that talks are progressing regarding a £50m sale to an American-based team who are involved in the computer industry and the deal has moved quickly after they expressed an interest in the past few weeks.

The report also claims that those behind the deal were at the Stadium of Light as Jack Ross' side beat Portsmouth 2-1 yesterday to secure their first league win of the season.

Whilst the transfer window has shut for the top two tiers, Sunderland are still able to bring in new players up until September 2, so any takeover could impact the plans Ross has in the market.

The Wearside outfit are back in action against Rochdale on Tuesday.

The Verdict

This is a very interesting update and Sunderland fans will hope to know more about those keen on doing the deal in the coming days.

That is the obvious risk associated with this as we don't know anything about the prospective owners and what intentions they have with the football club.

But it's clear that Donald is struggling to take Sunderland much further as he has been wanting additional investment for a while now.

So, this could turn out to be a real positive for the north-east side and they will hope a conclusion is reached soon.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.