Cats boss keen on Celt but may have to offload first

JACK Ross has admitted an interest in Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie – but says Sunderland would likely need to offload players before they can add any more new faces.

The Black Cats have been linked with a loan move for the 23-year-old Scotland international.

But while Ross says Christie fits the template of the kind of player he is looking for, he is not expecting any imminent arrivals on Wearside.

“Ryan is a player that I like, he has good qualities but again it is a balance between what we need in the squad,” said Ross, following Sunderland’s 4-1 win at Gillingham.

“He is a left-footer and we don’t have a lot of them in the squad in forward areas.

“He is a player that I am acutely aware of and he fits the kind of bracket in terms of he has played a lot of games for a young man.

“At the moment we are where we are and I don’t envisage anything changing quickly.”

Sunderland have also been linked with Celtic left-back Calvin Miller, but Ross has shrugged off those reports, saying: “I’m not sure where that has come from.”

Sunderland need to get the likes of stayaway pair Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong off the wage bill before they can bring in more players.

While Djilobodji and Ndong are not yet on their way, Ross thinks there could be movement ‘sooner rather than later’.

Asked if anyone was close to leaving, he said: “No, nothing at the moment.”