SUNDERLAND

With only two days remaining of the transfer window after today, Simon Grayson is running out of time to bring in the players he feels he needs to make Sunderland more competitive.

His struggles to bring in an extra striker have led to him turning his attention to Jordan Rhodes, although there will have to be some serious negotiating to pull that deal off.

Sunderland are not looking to spend big ahead of the transfer deadline and Sheffield Wednesday would prefer to sell a player they only paid £9m for at the end of last season.

The former Middlesbrough striker has failed to hold down a place at Hillsborough and Championships clubs, including the Black Cats, have asked about his availability.

Sunderland remain in the market for Aston Villa’s Ross McCormack, and that is another deal that could happen late if the Villans decide to let him go on loan or on the cheap rather than permanently.

There has also been a suggestion this morning that Grayson is keen on Motherwell defender Ben Heneghan. The 23-year-old centre-back is also wanted by Rangers and QPR, and is available for less than £500,000.

The only other bit of talk flying around this morning sees Jack Rodwell linked with a move to Sporting Lisbon. It has been claimed he could be a replacement for William Carvalho if he leaves before Thursday night.

NEWCASTLE

So Siem de Jong has finally left – again. The Dutchman has returned home to Ajax on a permanent deal and that should help Rafael Benitez in his own recruitment plans this week.

De Jong has just struggled to make the impact he would have liked on Tyneside and it is no surprise he has gone. It would be no surprise either if he was a success story again at Ajax, where he really made a name as captain.

Newcastle are still pushing to bring in players themselves and have been linked with Argentine defender Nicolas Tagliafico, who has been impressing with Independiente.

Benitez has also been linked with checking on the availability of Liverpool’s Divock Origi and prolific £8m-rated Icelandic forward Vidar Orn Kjartansson.

But he knows he needs to move players on. De Jong’s departure is likely to be followed by more, with Grant Hanley known to be interesting Fulham and Norwich City.

Newcastle have also been credited with a swap deal involving Tim Krul with PSV goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.

MIDDLESBROUGH

What next for Middlesbrough? Garry Monk is not expecting too much to happen this week having done the majority of his transfer work already.

However, with Lille expected to finalise a £13m move for Adama Traore before the deadline that is a deal that could trigger some late work from Boro themselves.

As things stand they are not the favourites to land Brentford’s Jota, with Fulham also pushing for him and the Bees holding out for £8m.

Middlesbrough are one of the front-runners for Liverpool youngster Ryan Kent, though.

Other than those deals it is more a case of Middlesbrough hoping to avoid any late dramas, particularly with top-flight clubs weighing up when and how much to offer for Ben Gibson. Boro do not want to lose him.

ACCORDING TO REPORTS …

Liverpool are ready to spend another £135m to land Virgil van Dijk and Thomas Lemar - after making Naby Keita their club-record signing.

Tottenham could potentially miss out on signing Paris Saint-Germain star Serge Aurier, as he prefers a move to Manchester United.

West Brom boss Tony Pulis is going back in for Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs with a £13m offer Hull City are hoping to land Jackson Irvine in a £2m deal from Burton Albion today West Brom are holding out for £37m for Manchester City target Jonny Evans Chelsea are closing in on a £75m double deal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Drinkwater.

Shkodran Mustafi is ready to move to Italy as Arsenal continue negotiations with Inter Milan.

Brighton have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy.

Swansea City are set to join the fight for Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches as they seek a replacement for Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer is ready to bid for Jose Fonte to save his job.