Lee Johnson still believes Will Grigg is a "good player" but whether he will remain on Wearside beyond this summer "remains to be seen".
Grigg spent the second-half of last season on loan with MK Dons, scoring eight goals in 20 appearances for the League One outfit.
The Sunderland head coach was keen for the striker to remain on Wearside in January, but Grigg opted for a move away from the Stadium of Light in search of more game time.
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Johnson had every faith in his ability to get Grigg firing again, but the Northern-Irish international re-joined his former club to try and find his goal scoring touch once again.
Now, having returned to Wearside, Grigg has continuously been linked with a permanent move away from the Black Cats this summer, with Wigan Athletic and MK Dons reportedly keen on his signature.
Nonetheless, the 30-year-old remains a Sunderland player but Johnson is planning for every eventuality.
Speaking prior to the pre-season clash with Spennymoor, the Black Cats head coach said: “We had to plan for every eventuality. In fact the planning already started in signing Ross Stewart.
“That planning was January anyway because I know they are different players with different styles but at the same time they do have similar attributes in terms of their qualities.
“I think in the last game of the season, second leg (League One play-off semi final), you saw Ross Stewart in that first sort of 55 minutes and exactly what he’s about and to be fair to him, he hasn’t truly been fit yet for us with the hamstring injury and then being thrown back into games.
“I think this pre-season is really important for him and then you got to obviously got to recruit around what you’ve got.
“We’ve got Aidan O’Brien, we’ve got Will Grigg. Whether or not Griggy stays remains to be seen but he’s here and it’s not like we don’t think he’s a good player.
"We do think he’s a good player but obviously sometimes that doesn’t always come into whether a player wants to stay or not."
