SUNDERLAND will make a last-ditch attempt to sign Ross McCormack on loan from Aston Villa ahead of this evening’s transfer deadline, but the rest of the club’s business will be dependent on what happens to Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong.

Wahbi Khazri travelled to France yesterday to complete a season-long loan to Rennes, with Sunderland officials having agreed to a temporary deal once it became clear they would be unable to sell the Tunisian winger for an acceptable fee.

Khazri’s departure has created some much-needed space on the wage bill, with Rennes understood to be taking over the whole of the winger’s wages for the remainder of the season, and Sunderland officials will spend deadline day attempting to recruit a new attacker.

McCormack remains Simon Grayson’s preferred option, but the Black Cats will still need Aston Villa to pay some of the Scotsman’s wages in order to take him to the Stadium of Light.

Villa have accepted they will not be able to sell McCormack this month, with the 31-year-old’s £10m price tag having put off the Championship clubs to have inquired about his potential availability this summer.

As a result, the Villa Park hierarchy are willing to consider a loan deal, although they are likely to wait until the last possible moment before cementing their plans in an attempt to secure the best possible financial arrangement.

Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain flagged up the club’s interest in McCormack a number of weeks ago, and will return to the negotiating table this morning in an attempt to push through an agreement.

Reading, Derby and Leeds remain involved in discussions of their own, although Hull City are understood to have dropped their interest after switching their attention to Leicester City’s Ahmed Musa.

Sunderland have lined up potential alternatives to McCormack, based both at home and abroad, with Grayson adamant he does not have sufficient fire power to survive the rigours of a Championship season.

Lewis Grabban and James Vaughan have started all of Sunderland’s Championship matches so far, with Joel Asoro and the currently-injured Josh Maja the only alternative options.

The Black Cats have also been linked with possible moves for Tommy Elphick, although the defender looks set to remain with Aston Villa, and Manchester City teenager Toisin Adarabioyo, a 19-year-old centre-half who is part of the youth set-up at the Etihad Stadium.

Khazri’s departure has been widely anticipated all summer, and became all-but-inevitable when he publicly outlined his determination to leave earlier this month.

The Tunisian made an instant impact after Sam Allardyce shelled out £9m to sign him in January 2016, scoring in his third appearance against Manchester United and making 14 appearances as the Black Cats hauled themselves to safety in the second half of the season.

David Moyes clearly didn’t trust him though, and he made just seven Premier League starts in the whole of last season. He featured in pre-season under Grayson, but his only two starts of the current campaign came in the Carabao Cup wins over Bury and Carlisle.

It remains to be seen whether he is the only senior player leaving Wearside today as Sunderland remain willing to listen to offers for both Kone and Ndong.

Kone is the much likelier to leave, with a number of Premier League clubs still on the look-out for a centre-half before the window swings shut.

Sunderland turned down an £18m offer from Everton for Kone last summer, but would now be willing to do business at around half that price as they look to off-load the Ivory Coast international. At this stage, however, they are not interested in a loan deal.

Ndong is another saleable asset that would be allowed to leave if the price was right, although West Ham have not followed up an initial inquiry about the midfielder that was lodged last week.

The Stadium of Light hierarchy are not anticipating a late offer for their record signing, but Grayson has plans in place in case events take an unexpected turn before 11pm. The Sunderland boss also has defensive targets in mind to cover the eventuality of Kone leaving.

Michael Ledger joined Hartlepool United on a season-long loan yesterday – the defender might well have played his final Sunderland game as he is due to become a free agent next summer – and goalkeeper Max Stryjek is set to follow him through the exit door, with League Two Accrington Stanley close to completing a loan.