Sunderland are reportedly taking a keen interest in Tottenham Hotspur striker Dane Scarlett.
That's according to an exclusive report on Monday morning from journalist Michael Graham via Sunderland Nation, which reveals that the Black Cats are plotting a loan move for the highly-rated forward.
Scarlett, 20, is no stranger to the Championship nor the EFL for that matter, having spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Portsmouth in League One, prior to spending the first half of last season on loan with Kieran McKenna's Ipswich Town,
The England youth international is a graduate of Spurs' academy system, and has made 17 first team appearances for the club.
Sunderland eyeing Scarlett swoop
The Black Cats made a winning start to their Championship season over the weekend with a 2-0 away win over Cardiff City, and the feel good factor around the club could be about to crank up another notch too.
That's because Graham's exclusive Monday report states that Sunderland hold a 'significant interest' in Scarlett, and is now the preferred option to fellow Spurs academy graduate Will Lankshear due to his greater experience at senior level.
Still regarded as a bright prospect for the future, it appears that a temporary move to the Stadium of Light would be all that the North London outfit would be willing to commission at this stage.
Graham comments that Scarlett's signing wouldn't put an end to Sunderland making further additions in the striking department either, with him being a compliment to the arrival of a more experienced centre-forward this summer.
SM Caen striker Alexandre Mendy has reportedly decided that Sunderland is where he wants to be playing his football for the foreseeable future, but as of yet, the two clubs have not been able to come to an agreement on a deal.
The Black Cats have found major success when going to the Spurs well for young talent in recent years, with Jack Clarke, Dennis Cirkin and Romaine Mundle all being on the books of the Premier League side prior to making the move to the North East.
Scarlett could solve Sunderland's striker problem
Le Bris has inherited a Sunderland squad that is littered with talented players, and has the look of a unit that could compete with the very best in the Championship this season.
But, if they do indeed intend to be among the promotion contenders coming into the home straight of the campaign, then an Achilles heel may well need to be addressed before dreams of a Premier League return can turn into concrete belief.
That's because what the Black Cats lacked in their squad last season was the presence of a true goal-scoring number nine, as the Wearsiders haven't yet replaced the goals of Ross Stewart.
Rather, they found themselves perhaps over-reliant on the form of Clarke in front of goal last season, with his 15 strikes being comfortably ahead of the next highest scorer last year, which was Jobe Bellingham's seven.
Indeed, Nazariy Rusyn's two league goals was the highest among Sunderland's crop of strikers last term, putting into perspective the need for strong additions in that department this summer.
Black Cats supporters won't want to see a strong squad being held back by a lack of cutting edge through the middle of the park once again this year, but if Scarlett could replicate his form from youth team football into the senior game, that would no longer be an issue.
As an indication of the talent he possesses, former Spurs manager José Mourinho said of Scarlett in 2021: "Dane has incredible talent. I don't want to speak too much because tomorrow I arrive in the building and the kid's boss is going to kill me. I don't want that so I don't want to speak too well about him.
"I just want to say that he will be 17 next month and I want him to be part of the first team squad next season. So this season he is there and here, goes to training sessions with us and matches with the kids of his age and trains there.
"Next season he has to be a first team player. Immense talent. Very good physical development. He's very good, he's going to be very good. I hope that nothing is going to destroy that potential. He must have feet on the ground and head on his shoulders because he has a fantastic talent."