Sunderland have received a boost during pre-season, with two of their main creative outlets apparently declaring that they are happy to stay at the club.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Roker Rapport Podcast - which will be available later this evening - Stewart Donald revealed that we can expect Callum McManaman and Aiden McGeady to stay at Sunderland this season since they’ve made it clear that they are happy, provided of course the pair don’t have their heads turned further down the line.

Although both men are on massive wages by League One standards, they aren’t so large that it creates a problem where we need to sell the players.

And, despite not being able to rule out a future incoming bid posing a question for both the club and the players, as it stands Jack Ross will be able to call on both of them for the forthcoming League One campaign.

McManaman has been one of Sunderland’s better players during pre-season, looking much sharper than he did for the majority of the last one.

McGeady has been unable to join in with pre-season training yet due to him suffering a minor injury during his time off. Despite that, his tally of seven goals and five assists from the wing last season suggests he could be a huge asset as we embark upon a jaunt into the third tier of English football for only the second time in our long and storied history.