Sunderland are believed to be in talks to bring Jermain Defoe back to the Premier League on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
The unsettled Toronto FC striker is desperate to return to England less than a year after moving to the MLS from Tottenham Hotspur.
He is currently training with Spurs in order to maintain his match fitness and apparently has a preference for a third spell at his former club.
However, the Lilywhites are not one of the 10 Premier League clubs interested in signing the 32-year-old and so Sunderland are now in pole position, according to Sky Sports News.
While a deal is not yet in place as earlier reports on Wednesday suggested, the relegation-threatened Wearsiders, who have netted just 18 times in the top flight this season, are in negotiations with Toronto over a swap deal which would see USA international forward Jozy Altidore move the other way.
Fifty-five-times capped England striker Defoe has 124 Premier League goals spread across spells with West Ham United, Portsmouth and Spurs. Altidore has scored just three goals in 52 games for Sunderland.
Joe Fish
