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Hello and welcome to the Sunderland AFC live blog for Tuesday, June 4.

The Black Cats are preparing for another important summer as they look to mount another promotion campaign following the disappointment of last season.

Jack Ross knows only promotion will do, and will spend the coming weeks assessing what changes he needs to make to his Sunderland squad.

The futures of some players are in the air, with some more additions expected before the new season gets under way.

One definite departure is defender Lamine Kone, who has joined Strasbourg.

Get involved in the conversation. Follow us on Twitter at @ChronicleSAFC , on Facebook at chroniclesafc or on Instagram at chroniclesafc .

Signing off

That’s all from us for today - we’ll leave you with some of the day’s most-read.

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Inside Sunderland's academy

How the Black Cats are nurturing the attitudes and behaviours of the next generation.

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Who is Mark Campbell?

All you need to know about the US stockbroker who could be set to take control of Sunderland.

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Spice Girls Stadium of Light concert

It is taking shape...

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Steven Gerrard's praise for Jordan Henderson

The former Liverpool captain praised the former Sunderland star in The Times after he captained Liverpool to the Champions League title.

If I had to name someone I regard as the ultimate professional, then Jordan would come right at the top of the list. He is immaculate in the way he lives his life.

Some people don’t see the stuff behind the scenes, the gym work, the way he eats, but he is an incredible role model. He is selfless. He puts himself at the back of the queue because he looks after everyone else first. He puts Jordan Henderson last.

All of that is important but, of course, he is a top player as well. He has running power, you can trust him with the ball, has a good range of passing and, over the past few months, has risen to the challenge of pushing Liverpool forward and has come right into top form.

That is the key. You don’t last at Liverpool just by being a top guy. When he joined from Sunderland for about £18 million in 2011, there was a lot of focus on him as a young kid. He was leaving his home town and coming to a huge club like Liverpool.

I always tried to put my arm around him and be there for him because I knew it was a big move. But everything he has done, and will go on to do, is down to him. He deserves the credit for that. Playing for Liverpool comes with pressure and when you are captain as well, that is magnified.

When I took over the captaincy from Sami Hyypia, I felt it because the history of the club is about winning trophies. So when Jordan took the captaincy over from me in 2015, it will have been the same.

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard hands puts the captain's armband onto Jordan Henderson
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard hands puts the captain's armband onto Jordan Henderson (Image: PA Wire)
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Adnan Januzaj linked with PSG

It was only two seasons ago that Januzaj endured a difficult loan spell at Sunderland but after impressing for Real Sociedad, reports in Belgium have linked him with a move to the French champions this summer.

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Stewart Downing

Latest from our colleagues in Teesside.

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Sunderland's 2017/18 financial results

A reminder of the club’s bleak financial picture during Ellis Short’s final season as owner.

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Ayr boss discusses Lawrence Shankland's future

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Ayr boss Ian McCall has hinted Shankland could join a ‘sleeping giant type club’ in England. Could it be Sunderland?

He said:

He has to go to a club where he will play.

There may be the option of a very, very big club, but would he play there every week, to take that next step and kick on again?

One of them, it’s a club in Scotland and you need to be really mentally strong, that’s something I think Lawrence has, but the only way you find that is if you go through it. You can’t predict that, it’s something you have to live through to find out if you have it.

There are a couple of pretty sizeable clubs in England where I’m pretty sure he would play. One in particular would suit him, a sleeping giant type club.

He has three now to choose from. If his mentality is as good as it can be, which he’ll need if he goes to a big club, he can be as good as any of them [strikers in the Scotland squad].

He scores goals with his right foot from 25 yards, with his left foot from 20 yards, he scores tap-ins, headers. He’s so fit and strong. I’m not even sure if he’s best as a number nine or number 10.

He’s not even close to how good he could be. Coming through at Aberdeen, he’s had loans that didn’t work out and he’s quite a complex boy.

Technically, people don’t realise what he’s got. He can drop off, find passes with left or right foot that gifted midfielders see. Or he can play right up in the box. It doesn’t matter where it falls to him, he can create space for himself in a second.

(Image: Daily Record)
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Club Brugge to 'rekindle interest' in Bryan Oviedo

The Northern Echo report that Club Brugge are ready to rekindle their interest in Sunderland left-back Bryan Oviedo.

The Belgian side have long held an interest in the 29-year-old and can offer the Costa Rica international Champions League football next season.

Sunderland are keen to trim their wage bill and Oviedo is likely to leave the Black Cats this summer given his high wages and his contract expires next year.

The Belgian side start their European campaign in early August and would like the former Everton defender in place by then.

Sunderland's Bryan Oviedo celebrates
Sunderland's Bryan Oviedo celebrates (Image: PA)
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SAFC international watch

When and where SAFC’s internationals are in action this summer...

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Report: Mark Campbell set to become Sunderland's majority shareholder

The Mail Online report that the US investor will acquire a 74 per cent stake in the club, buying 64 per cent of Stewart Donald’s stake and 10 per cent of Juan Sartori’s.

It will leave Donald and Sartori with a 10 per cent stake each, while Charlie Methven will retain his six per cent stake in the club given to him after he brokered a deal for Donald to buy the club off Ellis Short.

The report claims Campbell has undertaken due diligence and a deal is expected to be completed before July.

Sunderland insist they are still talking to other parties but it is claimed Campbell is the only serious contender left in the race according to the report.

It is unclear what position Donald would hold after the deal is completed while the value of the deal is unknown.

Sunderland owner Stewart Donald
Sunderland owner Stewart Donald (Image: PA)
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League One football, but SAFC's academy maintains Premier League standards

Sunderland’s football might have been League One last season, but their education programme remains Premier League.

It is two years since the Black Cats last played top-flight football, but there are legacies.

They should have come off the Premier League’s education programme when they dropped out of the division in 2017.

“We were told we had to go to the EFL (Football League) for our education and I said, ‘Why?’ I gave a good argument in terms of quality assurance as to why we should stay in the Premier League,” explains the Academy of Light’s head of education and welfare Don Peattie.

“It would have meant our new first years being with the Football League and our second years being with the Premier League and it didn’t make sense but I think the Premier League will probably say we can’t stay with them if we’re not back in the Premier League within two or three years, which is fine.

“We can choose our own training provider anyway, so we could go with our a local training agency or a college.

“The Premier League are good in terms of what they offer us, free sessions around player care and life skills. They offer quite an extensive player care or life skills programme.

“We’ll do a lot of sessions on finance, mental health awareness and media. We’ve got a chap called Matt Himsworth (a media law specialist) who comes in and does a lot on the dos, don’ts and the pitfalls of tweeting and Instagram.

“We’ve got somebody next week talking to the under-23s about property, and if they want to buy to let, the best way to go about it. We do loads of different things.”

Full story...

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SAFC youngsters

Who will emerge next season?

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Promotion poll

Confident?

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Welcome

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s Sunderland live blog.

We’ve got all the latest red-and-white news and views coming up.

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