Nine of the best Premier League young talents who Sunderland could target for a loan swoop

Clarke-Salter, the 20-year-old with a big reputation but little senior experience, is a perfect example of the market Coleman is operating in.

Loans are the order of the day and with finances tight, the Premier League's senior fringe players are out of range.

By his own admission, the Sunderland boss has to target those who may have only played development football so far, or perhaps had one or two short loans to the lower leagues.

He is looking at the positives of the approach, hoping he can inject some fearlessness and energy to his ailing squad.

With that in mind, we picked out nine of the best talents who could be ready for a loan move. As Coleman himself said after the Middlesbrough defeat, competition for these youngsters will be intense but he will hope that the arrival of Clarke-Salter signals the start of a positive month.

BEN WOODBURN (Liverpool)

A name that needs no introduction to Sunderland supporters. A top target for the January window but one that will not be easy to secure. Coleman is close to the player and that could work in his favour, but Liverpool may well decide that they want the youngster playing at the top end of the table rather than in a relegation fight.

It also remains to be seen whether they will loan out a player who was close to first team inclusion before and even more so now that Philippe Coutinho has left for Barcelona.

This would be a real coup and it remains to be seen whether the Black Cats can pull it off.

LUKAS NMECHA (Man City)

Part of England's World Cup winning U19 squad and heavily linked with a loan move this month.

A tall striker with real pace who can also play on the flanks, he would be an excellent addition. Competition will be stiff for his signature, however.

REISS NELSON (Arsenal)

One of the most highly-rated talents in the Arsenal academy, he has been an U23 regular and started the FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. It was a baptism of fire for the 18-year-old but he showed his pace and dribbling ability on multiple occasions.

He would bring some welcome energy and versatility, an easy fit in either a wing-back position or as one of the two attackers playing off the main forward in Coleman's currently preferred system.

SULLAY KAIKAI (Crystal Palace)

Had a mixed loan spell at Brentford last season but scored some superb goals and would bring some real purpose to the Sunderland front line.

At 22 he is older and more experienced than the market Coleman is operating in generally but he is well out of the picture at Selhurst Park and Roy Hodgson would surely be open to short-term offers.

BENI BANINGIME (Everton)

Sunderland retain a strong and productive relationship with Everton and so it would not be a great surprise to see them look to the Blues' Academy.

The Black Cats need a holding midfielder with Darron Gibson now set for a long-term absence and Baningime showed his potential during a clutch of first team appearances while David Unsworth had temporary charge.

The 19-year-old has moved out of immediate contention under Sam Allardyce and would bring some energy to that midfield role.

MARCUS EDWARDS (Spurs)

Faded from the picture at Spurs despite being compared to Lionel Messi by manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Tottenham boss raised questions over his attitude in a recent book but rates him highly and was keen to send him out on loan in the summer. Edwards stayed to fight for a first team place but four months on is now closer to a breakthrough and perhaps may reconsider his position.

A raw talent but one that would bring much needed creativity.

OLI McBURNIE (Swansea City)

Looked nailed on to join Barnsley in the summer but administrative problems stopped the move.

Has made an impression under Carlos Carvalhal and Swansea would likely need to recruit themselves before consider an exit for the 21-year-old.

If he did become available, however, he would bring real energy to the front line and is perhaps more physically suited to the Championship than Coleman's current options in that position.

EDWARD NKETIAH (Arsenal)

Prolific in the U23 setup, Nketiah has featured in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup, scoring in the latter against Norwich City.

With Wenger's side now out of the FA Cup it could be time for his first loan move. Chris Coleman needs at least one striker to arrive this month.

BRAHIM DIAZ (Man City)

An absurdly talented attacking midfielder.

Diaz has featured in the Champions League and Carabao Cup this season but Manchester City's options in that department are rich and they could yet Alexis Sanchez to their ranks.

That might free up Diaz for a loan and he would an asset for any team in the second tier.

It may well be that the 18-year-old even attracts interest from the top leagues in Europe. Another young talent in this position at City is Oleksandr Zinchenko, a 21-year-old who spent time on loan at PSV last season.