Sunderland boss Jack Ross reveals thoughts on Josh Maja saga and the type of player he wants to sign

The situation remains unclear after the 20-year-old striker turned down a long-term contract offer from the Black Cats.

Ahead of Sunderland's trip to Scunthorpe this weekend, Ross revealed there have still been no offers for Maja this month, while a possible option would be to let Maja sign for another club in then be loaned back for the remainder of the season.

Even so, Ross is growing increasingly frustrated by the situation.

“There’s been no approach or formal communication from any club,” said Ross.

“That’s entirely truthful. “There may have been communication to Josh via a third party, I don’t know. I’m not crying about that, it goes on in football, it happens.

“Where that could potentially lead to, I have no idea.

“What I would say is that I’m edging towards the stage where I’m fed up with it, and we need to resolve it one way or another.“There’s a few different scenarios within that - Josh going, Josh going and coming back on loan, Josh staying [until the summer], Josh signing a new contract.

Regardless of whether Maja stays at Sunderland, Ross is still trying to add another striker to his squad this month.

The Black Cats remain interested in Wigan Athletic striker Will Grigg, despite seeing a couple of bids turned down.

Ross also admitted adding a ‘poacher’ to his squad this month could make all the difference, with Sunderland pushing for promotion from League One.

“We do need to score more consistently,” added Ross.

“Hence why I’ve identified bringing in and out-and-out striker.“Even through the season so far, our scoring record has been remarkable because we’ve not had those out-and-out strikers really.

“If you look at the likes of Aiden, Lynden, Chris, their contributions, there will be spikes and dips.

“During those dips you really need poachers, for want of a better word.

“If you look at recent games we’ve had enough opportunities to kill games off."