Cats will have to play waiting game in pursuit of Morgan

Sunderland boss Jack Ross will have to be patient in his pursuit of Celtic winger Lewis Morgan.

Ross has made his interest in the 21-year-old winger known, with the new Black Cats boss hoping to bring Morgan – who he managed at former club St Mirren – to Wearside on a season-long loan deal.

Celtic haven’t ruled out allowing him out on loan, but reports north of the border say Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers won’t make a decision until mid-July, at the earliest, in order to give Morgan a chance to stake a claim to be part of Celtic’s first-team plans.

It means Ross will have to be patient or move on to other targets. Sunderland won’t be the only team chasing highlyrated Morgan, who has competition for a first-team place at the Scottish giants with the likes of Scott Sinclair and Ryan Christie ahead of him in the pecking order. Celtic bought 21-year-old Morgan in January and loaned him back to Ross’s Saints, where he finished the campaign strongly as St Mirren won the Scottish Championship, his form was rewarded with a call-up for Scotland’s games in Peru and Mexico. He made his international debut as a late sub in the 2-0 defeat in Lima.

Morgan will hope to make his mark in a pre-season training trip to Austria, with a game scheduled on June 27 against local club Vorwarts Steyr as Rodgers’ men prepare for a Champions League qualification push, beginning on July 10 or 11. Celtic face eight qualifiers in eight weeks as they bid to reach the group stage for the third year in a row.

Ross spoke highly of Morgan at his official unveiling as Sunderland boss last week, saying: “That satisfaction from seeing players get better; a player like Lewis Morgan, for example, over a period of 18 months has gone on such an upward trajectory. He has always had the natural ability.

“He developed a mindset, a confidence and a steeliness that has taken him to a different level.”