But whether the Wearsiders are able to clinch the signature of the former England Under-21 man remains to be seen.

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Sunderland have submitted a firm offer for the 23-year-old, with Black Cats manager Roy Keane seeing the athletic defender as the experienced Premiership centre-half he needs to strengthen his rearguard this season.

Peckham-born Ferdinand – brother of Manchester United star Rio – is happily settled in London and it would be a big wrench for him to move to the North East.

But Sunderland have identified him as a key target and will be dogged in their pursuit of a young player with plenty of Premiership experience.

Ferdinand missed out on West Ham's opening game of the season – the 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the weekend.

He was injured in a pre-season friendly with Ipswich Town but the bruised leg is not expected to sideline him for long.

West Ham United confirmed to the Echo that they have received a bid from Sunderland. But the prospective signing is not past the post as things stand.

Ferdinand has turned down a contract offer at West Ham United and Aston Villa were monitoring his situation over the summer before Martin O'Neill decided to look elsewhere.

West Ham are Ferdinand's only club, the centre-half joining them as a trainee in 2002. He has been at Upton Park since he was a youth and although he has had something of a playboy reputation, that has not prevented him from progressing up the international ranks and he was a regular for England Under-21s.