Sunderland, Portsmouth and Ipswich Town have seemingly been dealt a transfer blow in their pursuit of St Johnstone striker Guy Melamed, with the Scottish club's manager Callum Davidson telling Not The Old Firm that they are working on a new contract for the player. 

The Black Cats, Tractor Boys and Pompey were all linked with the Israeli frontman recently as they all began to weigh up a summer move for the 28-year-old who has notched up six goals in 16 games for the side north of the border.

His most recent contribution was the winning goal in his side's Scottish Cup third round victory over Dundee, promoting speculation to continue about his long-term future with the club as his contract continues to run down towards expiry.

However it now appears that Davidson has moved in to calm the talk around Melamed, by providing the following update on his player's future:

“Guy is out of contract at the end of the season. So we will see how he gets on. That’s among the priorities so we’ll work away at it."

Having originally arriving at the club back in October of last year, Melamed currently has a contract with the Saints until May of this year.

The Verdict 

It is clear that Sunderland are preparing for all eventualities at the end of this current campaign with there being a very real possibility that they could lose Charlie Wyke on a free after his exploits this season.

Therefore it is no surprise that they are targeting a player of Melamed's pedigree, with his expiring contract offering an extra incentive for the Black Cats to make a move for his services.

It appears that the Saints are keen to keep hold of their man but surely the pull of far more competitive football in England could convince the striker to leave Scotland for pastures new.

This will certainly be one to keep an eye on, especially if Ipswich and Portsmouth stay the course in the battle to sign the 28-year-old this summer.