Sunderland boss Peter Reid has earmarked Bolton supersub Michael Ricketts as a potential long-term replacement for Niall Quinn.

Ricketts, 22, has scored 17 goals in 27 appearances this season for Wanderers - 10 of them after coming off the bench.

His impressive goal record has caught Reid's attention but second-placed Bolton won't part while they are chasing Premiership promotion.

Even then it's likely to take a bid of at least £7m to tempt boss Sam Allardyce to sell in the summer.

Ricketts is big and powerful in the mould of Emile Heskey, and he's the sort of striker Reid is looking for to play off Kevin Phillips.

But hard-up Bolton are sure to drive a hard bargain if they decide to trade the goalscorer who cost a bargain £400,000 from Walsall last year. Reid is happy to have Danny Dichio in the squad but Sunderland are understrength in the striker department and Quinn admits he can't go on for ever.

That's why the Sunderland boss will make another marksman his top priority at the end of the season. Quinn meanwhile is undergoing treatment on a neck injury in a bid to be fit to face Liverpool on Saturday.

The 34-year-old, injured against Manchester United last week, missed out on Sunderland's midwinter break this week - and couldn't have been more relieved.

Quinn stayed behind Reid took his players north of the border for a four-day break. But he wasn't sorry when he learnt that the squad had been shivering in Siberian conditions with the local golf course under three feet of snow.

Quinn said: "I was disappointed to miss out but judging by the weather I'm better off here."

The players return today to prepare for the Liverpool game with the chance to jump back into third place.

l Premiership referee Paul Taylor was ''elated'' after a Football Association charge regarding alleged insulting remarks made to Notts County player Sean Farrell were dismissed by a three-man disciplinary commission at St Andrews.

Taylor faced the possibility of a lengthy ban had a misconduct charge over comments he was alleged to have made towards Farrell in a Second Division match with Wigan in October been proven.

But FA spokesman Paul Newman said that the charge had been dismissed and now Taylor was looking forward to rebuilding his refereeing career