SUNDERLAND are believed to be homing in on £4m Cameroon international striker Patrick Mboma.
Wearside boss Peter Reid, whose approach to German club Schalke 04 for 23-year-old Belgium international Emile Mpenza was rejected out of hand last week by the Bundesliga outfit, is understood to have narrowed down his search for a new partner for England ace Kevin Phillips to the Parma striker.
Mboma, a former African Player of the Year, has been starring for Cameroon in the African Nations Cup, but has been unable to command a regular place in his Italian club's starting line-up this season, playing only six times in Serie A matches.
Reports from Africa suggest that 31-year-old Mboma, a former PSG and Cagliari player, has been having talks with representatives of Sunderland during the tournament, and could complete negotiations this week.
Reid has been hunting desperately for a big target man to replace the veteran Republic of Ireland international Niall Quinn, who has been troubled this season by a persistent back injury.
He agreed a fee of around £6.5m for Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.
But he was scared off by the Trinidad and Tobago international's demand for wages of £50,000 a week.
He has scoured the Continent for a proven goal-scorer to link up with Phillips and at long last seems to be close to making a breakthrough.
Reid has steadfastly refused to identify possible targets, but after the relief of a 1-0 victory at Derby he admitted: "It is no secret that I would like to bring in another player up front. We are a little bit stretched there and we are still looking."
And asked how soon he thought something might happen, he replied: "I don't know - I would hate to put pressure on myself."
But there are strong suggestions that Reid could be set to offer Mboma, who is keen to play in the Premiership, a three-year contract and sign him in time to play in the derby game against Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light a week on Sunday.
But with no game this weekend Sunderland have plenty of time to continue their negotiations with the player and his club following the end of the African Nations Cup.
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