Sunderland are eager for goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin to sign a new deal, as per a report by the Northern Echo.
The stopper is out of contract at the Stadium of Light at the end of the season and talks over an extension are expected to progress over the next few weeks.
McLaughlin, who is 32 years old, has been the subject of interest from elsewhere over recent times and Sunderland had to turn down bids for him last summer. He joined the Black Cats in 2018 and helped them get to the League One Play-Off final last season.
Parkinson has spoken about his desire to keep him beyond this summer, as per the Northern Echo: “Jon is someone we would like to keep. The chairman and Richard Hill (head of operations) will be working on that.”
“He is performing well, but he has to keep his standards high, and when the chairman is ready, he will deal with that situation. Jon’s recent record puts him up there as one of the best in this division. He is calm, and has a lot of experience. At Bradford, he played in a lot of big promotion games. He played in big cup games too, and always handled the pressure well.”
McLaughlin is a key asset for Sunderland but his long-term future is likely to depend on whether they get promoted to the Championship this term. He has previously played for the likes of Bradford City, Burton Albion and Hearts.
The North-East side are currently 5th in the third tier and take on Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium today.
