Sunderland striker Charlie Wyke says he is open to a possible strike partnership with January signing Kyle Lafferty as the club look to secure promotion from League One over the next few months.

Lafferty has yet to start a game for the Black Cats since joining the club at the start of 2020, although there have been calls for him to take Wyke's place in the starting XI, with the latter scoring just five goals in 26 league appearances this season.

Wyke however, is understandably keen to keep his place in the side, and believes that could be alongside Lafferty, rather than instead of the Northern Irishman if necessary.

Speaking to The Chronicle about the possibility of a link-up between the pair in the next few weeks, Wyke said: "Hopefully - hopefully he's not playing ahead of me!

"He's obviously come on a few times and we are chasing a game then, so it's hard for him. But when he has come on he's been bright and there's a lot to look forward to."

Despite the fact that all nine of Lafferty's appearances for Sunderland so far have come from the bench, it certainly seems as though Wyke is encouraged by what he has seen from his new teammate both on and off the pitch, as he added: "He's a good player, he's had a good career and he's a good addition to the squad. He's a good lad and he's got along with everyone straight away.

"I know he probably hasn't had as much game time as he would have wanted, but I can see he's ready for his chance and he's going to be a good player for us."

Next up in the promotion race for Wyke, Lafferty and co. is the visit of Gillingham to the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

This is an interesting one.

Despite his recent struggles in front of goal, Wyke is obviously not going to want to lose his place in the side right now, especially at such a crucial stage of the season when there is still so much to be achieved.

As a result, you can understand why he is talking up a potential strike partnership with Lafferty, given he looks to be the player most likely to replace him in the Black Cats' side.

This may however, not be the worst idea for Sunderland anyway. With the likes of Wyke finding goals hard to come by on a regular basis at the minute, it could be worth considering putting another attacking option such as Lafferty on the pitch alongside rather than instead of him, to increase their attacking threat as much as possible.