SUNDERLAND are prepared to offload first choice right-back Chris Makin to Premiership rivals Ipswich Town in a shock deal worth nearly £2m.

East Anglian boss George Burley - a former Sunderland full-back - pressed home his interest in the 27-year-old Mancunian over the weekend and his bid was accepted at a meeting of the Sunderland directors after the home game against Aston Villa.

However, Sunderland manager Peter Reid has moved swiftly to secure a replacement and has signed French full-back Patrice Carteron on loan from St Etienne until the end of the season.

Makin, one of the Wearsiders' most consistent performers this season, is due to have talks at Portman Road today and is expected to sign in time to play against Aston Villa for the second time in six days.

The hard-tackling defender has played against Ipswich three times this season and obviously impressed Burley, who wants to strengthen his squad as the battle hots up for a place in Europe next season.

Ipswich are currently third in the Premiership table after their home win over Bradford City on Sunday, one place and one point ahead of Sunderland.

The deal will shock Sunderland fans, who have always had a high opinion of the hard-working fullback.

But Reid and the Sunderland directors obviously feel that the Ipswich offer is just too good to turn down for a player who was signed for a bargain £500,000 from French club Marseilles in August 1997.

He has made 143 first team appearances for Sunderland. Including 28 this season and his impending departure could intensify Reid's search for another full-back during his scouting mission in Argentina this week.

Reid has build up an intricate world-wide scouting system in his six years on Wearside and along with Boca Juniors full-back Hugo Ibarra, he has received glowing reports about 18-year-old wonder-kid Nicholas Medina, hailed as the new Maradona.

A posse of Italian and Spanish clubs are also believed to be on the trail of Medina, who made his full international debut as a 17-year-old, and Reid believes he can head them off if he is satisfied that the youngster can adapt to Premiership football.

Reid holds an ace card because Medina is a friend of former Argentinos Juniors clubmate Julio Arca, who has become a huge crowd favourite since his £3.5m move to Sunderland last year.

Medina, who, like Arca, qualifies for an Italian passport, comes from the same nursery as Diego Maradona, and comparisons are already being made in Argentina.

Reid has established a good relationship with Argentinos Juniors following his satisfactory negotiations for Arca and could land the blossoming star for a fee of around £4m - well within his budget.

But while Medina is his prime target, Reid will use his visit to Argentina to check out other possible targets, including Boca Juniors fullback Hugo Ibarra.

Reid is understood to have made firm inquiries about Ibarra, but the deal was put on ice because of possible work permit difficulties.

Reid is determined to bring in new talent before this month's deadline, but he has shied away from possible continental targets because of months of uncertainty about the European transfer system.

Sunderland, whose point from the 1-1 home draw against Aston Villa on Monday night lifted them back to fifth place in the table, still have European ambitions - but Reid admits that he must strengthen his squad to maintain a challenge.

He said: "This is a very difficult League to win football matches.

"We are a good Premiership side at the moment, but to reach the next level there is a long way to go."

He added: "It's my job to take us to that level I'm looking to improve the squad and do that I've got to bring in top drawer internationals.

"But it's difficult to get quality in and I've got scouts looking all over the country and the world in a bid to bring people in."

Meanwhile defender Jody Craddock, the player at the centre of Sunderland's disallowed stoppage-time goal against Aston Villa, insisted yesterday he had not impeded England goalkeeper David James.

The Wearsiders were robbed of a first win in six games, which would have lifted them to third place, when Barnsley referee, Stephen Lodge chalked off what would have been a match-winner by striker Danny Dichio, ruling that James had been fouled by Craddock.

But a television replay of the incident showed that James had, in fact, collided with his own midfielder, Ian Taylor, and even Villa boss John Gregory admitted the goal should have stood. Niall Quinn has suffered a recurrence of his back injury but as Sunderland have no game with weekend he has until the game at Chelsea a week on Saturday to recuperate