The departure of Ross Stewart brought a welcome end to an unwanted transfer saga. Will he commit or will he move on?

In the end, it was the latter. A bitter blow to Sunderland losing one of, if not the best strikers in the division to a promotion rivals, but not the end of the world.

In Tony Mowbray, the Black Cats have experienced boss with the tactical nous to get the best out of what he has at his disposal. If you ask any supporter of a red and white faith if they would have preferred to see Stewart stay, the answer would have been yes.

The prospect of facing Southampton just days after losing their star striker to the Saints, and one of the division's early title favourites, could not have been more daunting. Instead, Mowbray's men turned in their most impressive performances of the season to date, without a recognised striker on the pitch.

Of course, the lack of an out-and-out front man has been an ongoing problem for Sunderland's recruitment team to address for the past three seasons at least and they are still short of options in that area. However, the dynamism and versatility of Sunderland's attacking options have eased the loss of Stewart, at least in the short run.

Jack Clarke has been among the goals for the Black Cats with six in five games during the month of September, so it should come as no surprise to see Burnley and Brentford linked with a move for the winger. After turning down bids in the summer, you would expect Sunderland to hold firm in their 'not for sale' stance, but they'd understandably be open to talks if a bid was over their valuation.

As they say, every player has their price. Nonetheless, the loss of Clarke would be more hard felt in the short run, than the loss of Stewart has been so far.

After all, the Scottish international has not kicked a ball since January, while Clarke has been an ever present. A fee in the region of PS20million - which has been suggested by some supporters on social media - would be huge for the club to reinvest back into the playing squad, but also show their recruitment model is indeed working.

Kristjaan Speakman and co are not exempt from criticism, but at the moment, it's very hard to argue with the direction the club is going in. The change in attitude towards the Under-21s has seen a number of youngsters profit from more game time in the English game.

If you flash back to this time last season, Abdoullah Ba was plying his trade mainly for the Under-21s as he looked to adapt to life in England. At present, he's been one of Sunderland's top performers, at least for the month of September.

A dazzling display against the Saints saw calls come from the Black Cats fanbase for him to start more games. The French midfielder is growing into his role in the first-team and could well fill the boots left by Clarke if he were to leave the club.

Another big first-team player linked with a move away has been Daniel Ballard. The signing of the Northern Ireland international has been an astute piece of business from the Black Cats and they're a better side with him in it.

Nonetheless, there is a clear longer-term plan from the club to have the next player coming through the system, if those first-teamers were to leave. Jenson Seelt has been handed his first-team debut, while Aussie defender Nectarios Triantis has also featured in the Championship.

The latter of the duo is following Ba's footsteps in featuring for the Under-21s side, which could prove the perfect pathway into Mowbray's starting XI. Of course at this stage, it's very much hypothetical, but it's promising to see the club have ready made replacements, like Brighton and Brentford have in the past.