SUNDERLAND boss Peter Reid is expected to finally splash the cash today when he completes deals to bring two highly-rated English young guns to the club.

Liverpool full-back Stephen Wright and Leicester's Young Player of the Year Matt Piper have both held talks at the Stadium of Light.

And Reid is understood to be hopeful of adding both players to his squad today - and have them available for Saturday's opening day clash with Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Wright, who held talks with Reid last week and passed a medical on Monday, will cost an initial £1.5m with the price eventually rising to £3m, depending on appearances.

The 22-year-old is regarded highly at Anfield, but a lack of first team opportunities has persuaded him to up-root to the North-East.

Leicester-born Piper, meanwhile, was in negotiations with the Black Cats' chief on Monday and he is thought to have agreed terms on a £2.5m deal.

Both players will be welcomed by disgruntled fans on Wearside, who have been calling for Reid to spend some of his transfer kitty.

The Sunderland faithful have only seen Thomas Myhre, Phil Babb (both free transfers) and Sean Thornton (tribunal) arrive during the summer.

Sunderland fans will also be glad to hear their manager is near to agreeing a deal to bring a much-needed striker to the club.

Rangers front-man Michael Mols trained at the Charlie Hurley Centre yesterday and is considering a switch to the English top-flight.

And he could be joined at the Stadium of Light by club colleague Tore Andre Flo, with reports linking Sunderland with a double swoop for 31-year-old Mols, and the former Chelsea striker.

Mols yesterday admitted that a deal is far from complete, although he is keen for a return to first-team action.

"It could be a tough decision for me to leave Rangers, or an easy one," said the Dutchman. "I need to play games for the sake of my career. Nothing is certain - I might not like Sunderland, and Peter Reid might not like me.

"I don't really want to leave Rangers as the fans and the club have been really loyal to me, but I need to play."

Mols moved to Rangers in a £4m deal back in 1999 from Utrecht but after a promising start at Ibrox he damaged a cruciate ligament in a clash with Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn in a Champions League clash.

The injury required two operations and he made just 24 appearances last season for the Scottish giants, but was by no means first-choice.

Reid is desperate to bring in a new strike-partner for Kevin Phillips, and a flurry of transfer activity may be enough to appease those supporters frustrated at a lack of new blood in the squad.

* Sunderland's winger David Bellion has been selected for the France Under-21 squad for the first time. The 19-year-old will join the squad for their home friendly against Iceland in Brive later this month

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