JACK ROSS expects Josh Maja and Lynden Gooch’s long-running contract sagas to be resolved “in the next week or so”, and remains hopeful both players will sign new long-term deals with Sunderland.

Both Maja and Gooch are due to become free agents at the end of the season, and Sunderland officials have been discussing the pair’s position with their representatives for most of the first half of the campaign.

If either player was to refuse a new deal, the Black Cats would have to consider selling them in the January transfer window in order to maximise their financial value. With that in mind, a resolution to the ongoing impasse is anticipated within the next few days.

Maja and Gooch both started the Boxing Day win over Bradford, and have been influential performers throughout the first four-and-a-half months of the season, and while there has been outside interest in both players, Ross still expects their long-term futures to be tied to the Stadium of Light.

“I know Stewart has alluded to some positive news, and I still think that will be the case,” said the Sunderland boss, ahead of today’s home game with Shrewsbury Town. “I think by knowing how Stewart is nature wise, there’ll be some sort of finality to everything soon.

“One way or another, I think we’ll know which way we’re going with it all soon. I quite like that, because it allows us to plan and move forward properly. I would still hope that news will be positive, both with Josh and Lynden.

“Knowing how Stewart is, I think he likes to know where he’s at, and what we need to do as a club. That’s the model that he’s trying to put in place. For me, because of the number of games we’ve got, I kind of take my eye off it a little bit. Stewart can probably spend a bit more time on it because I’ve got so many games to prepare for. I would imagine over the next week or so, we’ll know for certain where we’re at.”

Sunderland’s January transfer business will be heavily influenced by what happens with Maja and Gooch. If the pair both commit to long-term deals, Ross has hinted his only move into the transfer market would be to plug the hole that is currently evident at right-back.

If, however, either Maja or Gooch leaves – or indeed any other senior player is prised from the squad – the Sunderland boss will hope to secure a replacement before the transfer window closes at the end of next month.

The Black Cats’ recruitment team have been scouting a number of strikers, but one of their potential targets looks like moving to one of Sunderland’s main promotion rivals.

Exeter City forward Jayden Stockley is poised to join Portsmouth in a deal worth around £750,000, having scored 15 times already this season for his current League Two employers. His move to Fratton Park will give Pompey a boost as they look to maintain the five-point gap that currently separates them from the Black Cats.

Sunderland closed the gap to Portsmouth, who have played two games more than them, with their Boxing Day win over Bradford, and the record-breaking Boxing Day has already had a positive effect on the Black Cats’ finances.

More than 46,000 supporters watched Aiden McGeady’s first-half goal see off the Bantams, and Donald has suggested on social media that the bumper attendance has added around £300,000 to the spending pot.

“About £300k into the transfer kitty for signings and wages,” tweeted Donald. “We have a couple in mind.”

Sunderland’s immediate priority is this afternoon’s home game with a Shrewsbury side that are 18th in the table after losing at Accrington Stanley on Boxing Day.

The Black Cats claimed a 2-0 victory at Shrewsbury’s Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium in October, but were forced to work hard for their victory against physically-imposing opposition.

Having scored an own goal, the Shrews remained in the game until Luke O’Nien’s 84th-minute strike eventually saw them off, and their midfielder, Ollie Norburn, sees no reason to be overawed this afternoon.

“It’ll be a big crowd, but we definitely won’t be going there fearing anything,” he said. “They’re in the same league as us and, on our day, we’re more than good enough to take on anyone.”

Meanwhile, former Sunderland centre-half Papy Djilobodji is closing to signing a deal with French club Guingamp. The Ligue 1 strugglers are also understood to have held talks with Didier Ndong, who also left Sunderland in the summer.

Sunderland (probable, 4-2-3-1): McLaughlin; O’Nien, Flanagan, Baldwin, James; Cattermole, Power; Gooch, Maguire, McGeady; Maja.