Sunderland have managed to agree a fee with Scottish Premiership side Ross County for Ross Stewart believed to be around £300,000 and the forward is now set to travel to the Black Cats for a medical.

The Black Cats have been looking to bolster their attacking options in the closing days of the transfer window, with Lee Johnson keen to take some of the goal-scoring pressures off Charlie Wyke. Sunderland had seen an initial offer for Stewart rejected by Ross County and with Aberdeen, MK Dons and Rotherham United all interested it looked like it could go down to the wire.

However, Johnson’s side have now come in with an improved offer of around £300,000 which has been agreed by Ross County, per Daily Record. The forward is now set to travel for a medical and to agree personal terms over a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Black Cats, as it appears that Sunderland have managed to win the race for the 24-year-old.

Quiz: Who has done more of these 15 things out of Sunderland and Newcastle?

It has been reported that Sunderland would be prepared to sanction a loan move for Will Grigg if they managed to get another forward into the club. The 29-year-old has agreed a deal in principle with Shrewsbury Town, so if Stewart arrives it could well signal the green light for that move to also go through before the deadline.

The verdict

This is a major boost for the Black Cats, with Stewart having clearly been Johnson’s target to add to his attacking options. Sunderland are in need of bringing in another potential goal threat in the final third as they aim to challenge for a top-six finish in League One.

Stewart has not been in the most prolific form throughout the start of the campaign, with the 24-year-old having managed to score just two goals in 19 appearances in the Scottish Premier League (Sofascore). However, he was involved in nine goals in 21 appearances last term and that shows that when he is on form he can be a real threat.

Johnson will be tasked with getting the best out of him, and the former Bristol City boss has a decent record extracting form out of his forwards and he has managed to get Wyke scoring regularly over the last few weeks. The hope will be that he can emulate that with the 24-year-old.