SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid is set to make a club record £6m bid for West Ham winger Trevor Sinclair.
The Wearside boss, who tried to sign the 28-year-old England B international as part of the £5.25m deal which took Scottish cap Don Hutchison to Upton Park last month, admitted last night: "He is a player I would like in my team."
As he prepared to shake up his team for tonight's Worthington Cup second round tie against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Reid confessed his interest in Sinclair as he seeks a player with pace for the right side of his midfield.
He said: "Sinclair is a player I asked for when West Ham came in for Don Hutchison and I got turned down.
"In an ideal world I would have liked to have Trevor Sinclair here."
He added: "I want to get quality players in at this football club and I will keep trying to do so.
"I did make an approach and was turned down, but he is a player I would like in my team."
Reid, however, has ruled out a move for Algerian midfielder Ali Benarbia after the 32-year-old spent a week's training on Wearside.
Benarbia was available on a free transfer from Paris St Germain, but Reid has decided against taking his interest any further.
Reid explained: "He came in and is a good player - but he is just not what I was looking for.''
Sinclair certainly fits the bill and Reid, with money to spend, is likely to go back to Upton Park manager Glenn Roeder - who has insisted Sinclair is not for sale - with a firm offer for the Londoner, who has expressed a desire to move on.
Meanwhile Reid will give 21-year-old goalkeeper Michael Ingham his senior debut at Hillsborough tonight.
Thomas Sorensen is recovering from minor surgery on his broken nose and with Austrian keeper Jurgen Macho still having trouble with a thigh injury, he turns to the Northern Ireland Under-21international.
Reid, who has named a squad of 17 players and has said he will make changes, said: "We won't risk Thomas Sorensen andMichael Ingham will make his debut.
"The lad is a good keeper and this is a big chance for him. He has a good temperament and I don't think he will let anyone down.
"The only thing he lacks is experience - but Thomas Sorensen was relatively inexperienced when he first joined us and he did a great job straight away. I think Michael is of the same ilk and it gives us a chance to have a look at the boy."
Ingham, who was on the bench in Saturday's 1-0 win over Blackburn, is thrilled by the prospect of stepping up into the first team.
The Preston-born keeper, who moved with his family to Belfast when he was eight, chose to join Sunderland ahead of Newcastle when he was receiving rave notices with Northern Ireland club Cliftonville.
Ingham had been turned down as a 17-year-old trialist by Newcastle and he opted for the Sunderland because he felt a better atmosphere at the Wearside club.
He said: "As soon as you walk into the changing room here you are made to feel welcome - it was a different atmosphere at Newcastle."
Ingham, who has four Under-21 caps, says he has learnt a lot from Sorensen and he is prepared to be patient. He added: "I'm still only 21 and in goalkeeping terms I'm still a baby. You can learn a lot from Thomas just by watching him in training and in my opinion he will be the best in the world in two or three years time.''
Slovakian Stan Varga will make his first senior appearance of the season and Reid is likely to make other changes.
Sunderland (from): Ingham, Kennedy, Haas, Williams, Clark, Varga, McCartney, Gray, Arca, McCann, Thirlwell, Kilbane, Bellion, Phillips, Laslandes, Lumsdon, Kyle.
* Sunderland's £2.5m Argentinian midfielder Nicolas Medina, who spent three days in hospital last week recovering from a viral infection, is back in full training and is likely to play in a reserve game later this month.
Read more about Sunderland here.
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