It has been reported that ex-Sunderland and Newcastle United player Lee Clark is going to offer released youngster Martin Smith a move to his current club Kilmarnock.
Handed a golden opportunity
Smith was one of four under-21 players that were released from Wearside this summer, with Mikael Mandron, Liam Agnew and Dylan McEvoy all exiting the club ahead of their deal expirations.
The box-to-box midfielder looked impressive after joining League Two side Carlisle United on loan in January, but they opted against a permanent contract.
However it seems that Clark, who spent two years with the Black Cats, is prepared to offer the youngster a golden opportunity with a three-year contract been proposed by the Scottish Premiership side.
Clark has carved out a successful managerial career, starting out at Huddersfield Town before moving onto Birmingham City and Blackpool. He moved to Kilmarnock in February and managed to keep them in the top flight and is reportedly looking for 11 players this window.
Closer to home
Sunderland's Scottish connections don't stop there as they have been rumoured to be taking part in a friendly against Dundee in this summer's pre-season campaign.
This would add to a already fixture-heavy schedule, with it announced last week that the club will travel to Austria for a pre-season training camp before taking on Hartlepool United, Rotherham United and a possible French side.
This is a contrast to last season when the Black Cats traveled to the United States and Canada, with Allardyce stating that they would not be going through that grueling process this season.
He told the Sunderland Echo that the side are "going to stay in Europe" and that it is "very important" that they "don't travel too far."
Allardyce continued, saying that pre-season will be about "staying in Europe" and "getting the players fit," and then the most important factor will be who they can "sign" and "how quickly" they can do it.