Sam Allardyce has revealed that he and Sunderland will predominantly look abroad in the January transfer window.
The club are keen on bringing more defenders to Wearside to strengthen a thin squad and have been linked with a couple of players in the Premier League - mainly those who Allardyce has worked with previously.
However, the manager revealed ahead of Liverpool's visit on Wednesday that they will "probably" have to look "abroad" next month instead.
Options wearing thin and leading to change in formation
Sunderland have had great success with their 3-5-2 set-up this season, with the wing-backs offering a lot going forward and the back three doing their job more often that not, albeit only when this consists of John O'Shea, Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Coates.
When other personnel are involved in this trio, things tend to go pear-shaped, with right-back Billy Jones not cut out for the central role and Wes Brown seemingly past it.
Thus, Allardyce has stressed that he is more than keen to bring in some more centre-back options next month - especially with Kaboul now out for up to eight weeks.
O'Shea will also miss the Liverpool game this week, and their absences have more than emphasised the need for recruitment in January.
The manager recognised this too, saying that the defence is "certainly" the "area" that the club need to look to "first" to "try and strengthen" as, in order to survive this season, they will need "a resilient defensive unit."
"A central defender would be the first priority," he continued, adding that he and his transfer team will then "move on from there."
England does not have the solution
Despite rumours though, Allardyce confirmed that he and his scouts will mainly look outside of the country for solutions.
Reports have linked West Ham United duo James Collins and James Tomkins with moves to Wearside, both having worked under the current Black Cats boss when he was at Upton Park last season.
However, Allardyce said that they will "probably" need to look "abroad" for a defender, "by the looks of what is about and available" in England.
He continued, saying that he believes that "it would be very difficult to secure a player from another club in the Premier League," which is another reason why looking in this country would be a problem.
This is because he doesn't "think" any of Sunderland's league rivals "would want to let anybody [go]" in January.
Abroad rumours also circulating
Nonetheless, this approach may not come as a great shock to fans because Allardyce has already confirmed that there is interest in Lorient's Lamine Kone in France.
Sunderland have sent scouts to watch the defender in recent weeks, whilst Olympiakos' Arthur Masuaku has also been watched by the Black Cats - albeit as a potential recruit for a full-back spot, not a centre-back one.
As long as they have the quality to improve Sunderland though, the club and its supporters will not care who comes in, with the ability to help fix a poor back line and the commitment to the cause all that they will be searching for.