The new Sunderland manager David Moyes has confirmed that last season’s loanees Yann M’Vila and DeAndre Yedlin are still in the club's sights.
Moyes had spoken at length with former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce prior to his arrival at the club, and he is very well aware of how important Rubin Kazan midfielder M’Vila and Tottenham Hotspurs right-back Yedlin were the key players to the Black Cats remaining in the Premier League for their tenth season.
Sunderland started to have fresh talks with Kazan over a permanent deal for M’Vila in the past week, yet it continues to be a problem for the pursuit of the Frenchman.
Despite the problems both M’Vila and Yedlin are still very much on the Wearsiders radar, it is a difficult situation to keep an open mind about the negotiations, but there are other options Moyes could explore in the market.
He told the Echo: “Both M’Vila and Yedlin made decent impacts.”
There have been other players who he has “talked a lot about” in the past couple of weeks and Sunderland have also “spoken to people about them.”
There are players “out there” who could fit the system, but there are “among a number” of players who they are looking at.
Value for money
With time sharp running out, he wants to see if there are “better players” that are available on the market, or for “better value” of money.
“I’m having to find out about the market quickly, and seeing what is there,” he added.
As the transfer window is about to close, the current “market” is very “difficult” with prices and “valuation” on a player is not easy at all.
The head coach also confirmed that a new right-back is one of three key areas that need’s added strength, as Sunderland are currently short on players, as the list on injury slowly grows, but also looking at the positions at centre-half and another striker.
He concluded: “It’s obvious we need a new right-back, a centre-half, and a centre-forward – and that’s before we even start to think about anything else or improving a different area.”