Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has urged Scotland striker Ross Stewart to ignore speculation linking him with Rangers and sign a new deal with the English Championship promotion hopefuls.
The former Ross County hitman is out of contract with the Stadium of Light club at the end of the season and has been linked with a summer move to Ibrox.
He's netted nine league goals in 11 games and there is stalemate so far between Sunderland and Stewart about a new deal.
But Phillips - who is Sunderland's post-war record goalscorer and now manager of Northern Premier League outfit South Shields - reckons Stewart can get even better if he stays with Tony Mowbray's side.
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He said: "Ross is very important and of course, I don't want to see him leave the football club.
"We've had some really good strikers play for Sunderland who have left, and I'd love him to not be one of those.
"We all want him to sign a new deal, he's a top player who scores very important goals. If he can stay fit, he'll score plenty more, that's for sure.
"He'd be a hugely important player for Sunderland moving forward.
"I think Sunderland have got to aim for the play-offs, and I think they are well capable of getting there, especially now they've got Ross back
"But I'd like to see them add another striker, whether that's on loan or permanently.
"If Ross were to get injured, who is going to be that player that comes in and scores with regularity? So, yeah, I'd like to see them dip into the market in that area."
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