Sunderland manager Peter Reid looks set to make a last, desperate plunge into the transfer market before Thursday's deadline.

And the Wearside boss is believed to be still searching for a proven goalscorer in a bid to shoot his way out of deepening relegation trouble.

Reid's last signing was Cameroon international Patrick Mboma, but the big striker has hit only one goal in five games since his loan from Italian side Parma.

And with Kevin Phillips not adding to his 11-goal tally in his last five games the lack of fire-power had been the obvious reason for the current demise, which has seen the Wearsiders slip alarmingly close to a relegation spot.

Since winning 3-0 at Blackburn on Boxing Day, Sunderland have gleaned only eight points from 12 matches, never scoring more than one goal.

Now, with seven games to go, including formidable-looking matches against Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool, Sunderland find themselves in grave danger of losing their Premiership status. Reid must decide whether to have one last fling of the dice in the transfer market in a bid to give his team a cutting edge.

Sunderland have been linked with promising, 20-year-old Luton Town fullback Matthew Taylor, but I believe Reid has bigger fish to fry.

Never a manager to reveal his transfer targets until a deal is virtually sealed, Reid said: "You can never predict anything in the transfer market, but I certainly won't say that there'll not be a new face before transfer deadline day.

"I'm looking at players all the time and while the close season is the time when most transfer activity goes on, you never know what might happen before the deadline."

Meanwhile, Slovakian international Stanislav Varga has been given the all-clear to make his loan debut for First Division promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion against Crewe Alexandra at The Hawthorns tonight.

Varga, who has lost his place in the Slovakian squad which meets Austria in a friendly tomorrow night because he was unable to command a regular first-team place at Sunderland, quickly agreed to move to the Midlands club.

But a hitch with his work permit meant that he was unable to play for the Baggies in their 1-0 away win against Nottingham Forest.

* Striker Kevin Phillips yesterday revealed that his World Cup dreams now look to be over after being left out of the England squad to meet Italy in a friendly at Elland Road tomorrow night.

Phillips, who has been capped nine times but had failed to scored at international level, said: "I felt all along that if I was in this squad then I would be in with a decent chance of going to the World Cup Finals, and if I wasn't picked I didn't think I'd have a chance of making the final squad.

"I keep saying it, but I'm just concentrating on trying to help Sunderland.

Read more about Sunderland here.