Sunderland are eager to secure two of their brightest new talents to fresh contracts

Kristjaan Speakman says that Sunderland will revisit contract talks with Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin in the summer as the club turns its full focus to its promotion push.

Sunderland have been in dialogue with the pair and their representatives for a number of months, with the duo now in the final 18 months of their current deals. As of yet there has been no breakthrough but the sporting director says he has no concerns about the impact on the pair and that it would now be best for everyone to take stock at the end of the campaign.

“We’ve had those conversations with the guys," Speakman said.

"There’s no question over Dennis or Dan’s commitment to Sunderland. But I don’t think at the minute, it’s the right moment to be getting into too much of a conversation with them. That’s really just down to the short time period we’ve got to the summer. We’ve got so much to achieve, and we need to stay focused. Dan’s our captain. I think he’s grown into that captaincy role and, as the season has gone on, has become more and more influential. At the minute, we’re really comfortable with where he’s at, we’re just zoned in and focused on these remaining games."

What has Dan Neil said about his Sunderland contract situation?

Neil himself alluded to that being his preferred approach when speaking to The Echo after the 3-2 win over Swansea City in December.

"In terms of the contract stuff, my only goal is to get us promoted this season," he said.

"That's everyone's goal this season and we just need to keep plugging away. All that [contract talk etc] is background noise, I'm here and all I'm interested in is those automatic places and getting us promoted back to the Premier League.”

Speakman also hinted that the club will try and secure a contract extension for talented young striker Trey Ogunsuyi, who has interest from Liverpool and other top-tier clubs. The youngster is believed to be under contract until next summer at this stage.

“We’re always trying to retain our talent," Speakman said.

"There’s a number of players across our pathway that we’d like to keep, and we try to stay ahead of all those conversations. So far, our track record has been fairly positive, so we’ll continue trying to do that. The demand for young talent in this country is really, really high at the minute. We’ve got to try to make sure that we look after Sunderland and keep that pipeline coming through. There’s a lot of players in our squad at the minute that have either come through our academy or we’ve signed them early and they’ve broken into the team and are now main parts of our starting XI."

Speakman has also confirmed that he will continue talks with Tommy Watson's representatives as the club bid to secure his long-term interest amid interest from Brighton and other Premier League clubs. Like Cirkin and Neil, Watson has now entered the final 18 months of his current contract at the club.

Your next Sunderland read: Kristjaan Speakman explains the transfer hurdle Sunderland faced in January and why he signed Jayden Danns