Sunderland are preparing for a big transfer window.

The Black Cats have ambitions of securing promotion from League One this term after falling short of expectations in each of the last two campaigns.

But this time there's a real feeling that they need to pull it off.

The Wearsiders are undergoing wholesale changes with Lee Johnson taking charge of first team affairs, while discussions over a club takeover are continuing behind-the-scenes.

The feeling is that those changes could make their way down as far as the playing squad as they look to ensure that the club are able to challenge at the top of the table - something that could spell bad news for one player in particular.

Put simply, things just haven't worked out for Will Grigg at the Stadium Of Light.

The striker arrived at the club in a big-money deal in January 2019 but he simply hasn't hit the standards that were expected of him.

Since joining almost two years ago, Grigg has scored just eight times in 61 appearances - a tally which is far from good enough for a player who was tipped to be the club's flagship signing in the third tier.

 

After Johnson's appointment Grigg has now played under three permanent bosses on Wearside and supporters are yet to see the best of the striker.

That means that his days are surely numbered.

The salary cap in League One means that the Black Cats have little room for manoeuvre when it comes to bringing in new players.

Given that Grigg is one of the higher earners at the club it's safe to say that Sunderland are currently not getting enough bang for their buck with the amount that is being spent on him.

That's why offloading him makes perfect sense.

Of course it'll be tricky to do that with other clubs in the third tier unlikely to take on his wage demands, but Sunderland must surely try.

If they can get him off the wage bill then it will give the club much more freedom to bring in the sort of players that Johnson can get the best from.

However if they can't offload him then it'll be up to Johnson to try and do what the previous two managers have failed to do and get a consistent tune out of the Northern Ireland international.