There have been no offers for reported Tottenham target Josh Maja, according to Sunderland manager Jack Ross.
Maja has scored 11 goals in League One already this season and is said to be attracting interest from Spurs, Manchester City, Southampton, Bristol City and Middlesbrough.
The 19-year-old’s current contract expires at the end of the season and reports suggest he could be available for around £6 million in January.
But Ross, who has led Sunderland to second place in his first season at the club, says there have been no offers for Maja at this stage.
“In terms of the conversations I have with Josh, I speak to him all the time, he is comfortable with the relationship he has with me which is important,” said Ross (via the Northern Echo).
“The situation (interest from other clubs) doesn’t make our relationship strained in any way. That has shown in what he is giving us on the pitch.
“There have been no concrete offers at this stage. He gets a bit of stick from the players and from my staff for some of the things that appear.
“I don’t think it has an impact on Josh because I don’t think he is that kind of personality.”
Spurs could pursue a new centre forward next summer to provide cover and competition for Harry Kane, something Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen have failed to do to a sufficient level over the last three seasons.
Llorente is out of contract at the end of this season. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to Leeds United or a possible return to Spain with Athletic Bilbao in recent days.
Tottenham might want to cash in on him in January, which would make a move for a new striker in the winter transfer window more likely.
