SUNDERLAND are unwilling to listen to any offers for Jon Stead while question marks remain over who will be running the club next season, writes Paul Fraser.

Sheffield United, who will swap places with the Black Cats in the Premiership, are preparing a cheeky £600,000 bid for a striker who cost £1.8m under a year ago.

Stead's failure to trouble the scoring charts in his first nine months at the Stadium of Light - he only netted once - has raised the possibility of Sunderland moving the player on in the close-season.

However, with the Niall Quinn-led consortium still some six weeks away from a possible take over, Sunderland are not in a position to sanction the sale of a player that would represent a £1.2m loss.

Whoever is making the decisions at the managerless club, now that Kevin Ball has relinquished his caretaker responsibilities, has already released five players, including skipper Gary Breen.

And with unwanted striker Andy Gray set to complete his £750,000 move to Burnley on June 1, Sunderland's hierarchy know it would be folly to offload another forward when the future of the club is so uncertain.

Blades boss Neil Warnock is refusing to confirm or deny his interest in the former Blackburn Rovers man. "I am continually asked if I fancy this player or that player and I know that will continue, but I'm determined not to comment on any player until I have signed him," said Warnock.

But he was an admirer of Stead's talents during his days with Huddersfield in the lower leagues and was one of the men tracking the former England Under-21 international last summer.

Nevertheless, regardless of how seriously Warnock wants to push his attempts to sign Stead, Sunderland are likely to stay firm while Quinn and his men push ahead with their take over bid.

In that sense the situation is similar to that which faces Sunderland's other sought after players. Liam Lawrence, Julio Arca, Dean Whitehead and Tommy Miller have all been linked with moves but none will materialise for some time.

The current board are hopeful, though, that both Dan Smith and Grant Leadbitter - offered new deals - will sign their extensions despite relegation.

Warnock is, however, in a better position to make a move for Breen, who is a free agent as his contract on Wearside expires next month.

The Sheffield United boss watched the Irishman in action during Sunderland's only home league win of the campaign against Fulham on May 4.

Meanwhile, defender Steve Caldwell is confident he will be back from injury in time to start pre-season training in the latter stages of next month after missing Scotland's game with Bulgaria after suffering a knee problem at Aston Villa on the final day of the campaign.

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