SUNDERLAND boss Mick McCarthy has warned potential suitors he has no intention of allowing John Oster to leave the Stadium of Light on the cheap.

The Wales international is currently on loan at Leeds United, and this week urged the Wearsiders not to price him out of a permanent move to Elland Road.

But while accepting the 25-year-old has no future with the Black Cats, McCarthy wants any club interested in the winger to stump up a substantial fee.

"John and I have had a chat and he's told me he'd like to have a fresh start somewhere else," said McCarthy.

"I thought he was excellent for me last year, when he played 48 games. I wanted to keep him but he's not started often this season.

"He got a bit of grief as well from a few fans and I don't think he appreciated that, and yet he's always given his lot for me so I can't knock him at all.

"But having lost his position to Dean Whitehead, and Liam Lawrence playing there, it makes it difficult for him.

"He would like a fresh start and I think it would suit all parties now. If someone comes in for him he's available."

With the reality of life outside the Premiership again hitting home - the club's financial figures yesterday for the year ending July 31, 2004 revealed turnover down a third to £28.5m and media income slashed in half to £9.5m - the Wearsiders will be keen to recoup a large percentage of the £1m Peter Reid paid for the former Everton and Grimsby midfielder in August 1999.

"If John Oster goes from here we'll be wanting a fee for him," McCarthy said about the player who was close to a near £1m move to West Ham in the summer.

"I think when you see Leeds buying David Healy and Shaun Derry for reportedly £250,000 and £700,000 then I think John Oster's got a very good value in line with those players.

"To be fair to John he played on the left side last year and played well.

"Playing on the left side is out of position really but he did it. That's why I wanted to keep him but it's not really happened for him."

Leeds striker Simon Johnson, on loan at Sunderland earlier this season, is seen as a possible makeweight in any move for Oster, but McCarthy appeared less than interested in a swap deal.

"If someone puts players into the equation it's not really what I want to do," said McCarthy. "I've got Michael Bridges, Chris Brown, Marcus Stewart, Stephen Elliott and Kevin Kyle coming back at Christmas.

"I like Simon Johnson - I like him as a player. I would have liked to have kept him at the time on loan but circumstances have changed, things have moved on - Michael Bridges has signed."

Meanwhile, McCarthy believes the form of striking sensation Stephen Elliott is good news for injured front-man Kyle.

Kyle is continuing his rehabilitation from a hip operation and while McCarthy is hoping to have him back early next year, he is not desperately in need of the Scotland international.

"We won't rush him back and thankfully we're not chasing him back," said McCarthy, who has seen Elliott take the Championship by storm with eight goals from 13 starts. "We're doing all right without him.

"That's not being detrimental to Kyle. I want to have him fit; I'd love to have him fit.

"But because we're doing well and because we're winning we don't have to be pushing him back. It always happens at clubs that people ask: 'Can I get back a week early because we're playing so and so'? But we don't have to do that.

"He's not with us, he's with the physios. It's always dangerous setting targets because there could be disappointments. I think if we look at getting him back at the end of the year then I'd be delighted.

"I don't even know if that is a feasible target. If we get him back for the start of next year I'd be thrilled.

"None of them like that physio room. It's quite amazing how much people like training when they've had three or four weeks in the physio room.

"When you go into the hip and start operating inside there it's kind of a tight place to go. It's not a great place to go operating, so we'll make sure that everything the physios do, and everything he does, is right."

* Sunderland are expected to be without Jeff Whitley (hamstring) for tomorrow's game at Stoke, but are hopeful Liam Lawrence (hamstring) will be fit to start.

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