Sunderland were relegated to League One last weekend after blowing a 1-0 lead with four minutes remaining.

At The Stadium of Light, Sunderland led Burton Albion by a single goal, but late strikes from former Sunderland man Darren Bent and Irishman Liam Boyce consigned the Black Cats to League One football next term in very disappointing fashion.

The whole season has been incredibly disappointing for Sunderland but there have been some bright sparks.

Some of the younger players have emerged as key men in Sunderland's side, such as George Honeyman, Joel Asoro, Josh Maja, Lynden Gooch and Paddy McNair.

Here, FLW shines a spotlight on McNair's season and considers whether he will stay at Sunderland or leave.

 

The Northern Ireland international has struck four goals this season from midfield.

McNair has been particularly impressive in recent weeks but it was too little, too late as far as Sunderland's Championship status was concerned.

Of his four goals, three of them were scored in the last three matches but it was not enough to save the Black Cats from the drop.

With a pass success rate of over 75% and nearly 1.5 aerial duels won per game, McNair is showing signs of rapid improvement and is finally starting to live up to the hype surrounding him when he was at Manchester United.

But will the 22-year-old stay at The Stadium of Light for next season and play League One football?

Obviously, every footballer wants to play at the highest level possible and McNair has the potential to return to the top flight one day.

But perhaps he would be best off staying at Sunderland rather than forcing a move too swiftly.

With just 14 games to his name this season, perhaps he needs to continue impressing for Sunderland before forcing his move away.

He has started to impress in recent matches but he needs to do so over a longer period of time.

If he stays with Sunderland at League One, he will be the integral piece of Chris Coleman's jigsaw puzzle as he searches for promotion straight back to the Championship.

But if he leaves, he risks not settling in elsewhere and potentially not getting as many games.