Sunderland manager Lee Johnson says Ross Stewart has been marked as Charlie Wyke's potential replacement since January in the event of his potential departure.

The 24-year-old scored three goals in 13 appearances since moving to the Stadium of Light from Scottish side Ross County. He started in only three of his 13 appearances for the Black Cats. 

Johnson admitted that he doesn't expect to see Wyke back at Sunderland next season after the expiration of his contract this summer. 

There is an offer on the table for Wyke but there has been plenty of interest from elsewhere, including teams in Scotland and the Championship. 

As Johnson operates on a reduced budget, the manager says his gut tells him that Wyke will be plying his trade elsewhere next season. 

With that in mind, Stewart and Will Grigg are available to Johnson for the forthcoming season, providing that Grigg doesn't orchestrate a move away from the club.

The Black Cats boss says Wyke's potential departure this summer has been in his thinking for quite some time. 

“We had to plan for every eventuality. In fact the planning already started in signing Ross Stewart" admitted Johnson.

“That planning was January anyway because I know they are different players with different styles but at the same time they do have similar attributes in terms of their qualities.

“I think in the last game of the season, second leg (League One play-off semi final), you saw Ross Stewart in that first sort of 55 minutes and exactly what he’s about and to be fair to him, he hasn’t truly been fit yet for us with the hamstring injury and then being thrown back into games.

“I think this pre-season is really important for him and then you got to obviously got to recruit around what you’ve got.

“We’ve got Aidan O’Brien, we’ve got Will Grigg. Whether or not Griggy stays remains to be seen but he’s here and it’s not like we don’t think he’s a good player.

"We do think he’s a good player but obviously sometimes that doesn’t always come into whether a player wants to stay or not."

There could be some potential good news for fans later this week as the club continue to work hard behind the scenes to bring in new recruits for their League One campaign. 

Johnson admitted that they have launched bids for 'four or five' players with 'two arrivals expected this week'.