Sunderland transfer news: Tony Mowbray reveals encouraging January update

The Black Cats are known to be looking to recruit a midfielder and at least one striker to support Ross Stewart, and Mowbray says there are numerous discussions going on.

"We're working hard, Kristjaan [Speakman] is working extraordinarily hard and is office light is burning well into the light," the head coach said.

"If you haven't got the multi-millions like some of the Premier League teams... you read some of the ridiculous numbers that players are getting signed for... we're trying to do deals that are right for the football club with players that we believe have growth in them and that will become better.

"They aren't easy to do, because every club that is selling these players wants the best price because they know these players and they know their potential. That's why we might going right until the end of the transfer window.

"We have to wait and see how the next couple of weeks rolls for us but I know there's a lot of hard work and a lot of discussions going on behind the scenes to try and incrementally improve the squad that we have.

"I think we could be close, but you never know. We hope that something is pretty close - there are deals we're negotiating to try and get over the line.

"We won't break the structures in place to bring someone in on much more than players who have worked really hard to get this club out of League One - we're growing it incrementally and I think that's the right thing do. We're trying to do it bit by bit."

Mowbray expects the club to be active before the deadline but stressed that the club won't be deviating from its long-term strategy to gradually build a squad that can compete right at the top of the Championship.

He has said on numerous occasions this month that the club at this stage aren't competing financially with teams at the top of the Championship on parachute payments - though the club expects to get there eventually.

"We're taking each games as it comes, it's a cliche but here we're trying to grow the football club,” he said.

"We will hopefully over the next couple of weeks announce some young, exciting signings that keep the club growing and developing.

"It's not a case of, 'if we sign this one and this one we should get promotion', we're trying to grow it incrementally so that we get stronger and stronger. If I'm still sat here in 18 months time then hopefully we're sat talking about a team that can compete at the very top end of the table.

"At the moment, we should enjoy the victories and the good play, the great goals that we've scored, keep giving the team belief and confidence to go and express themselves. We've got some amazing footballers and we should be getting them the ball and let them do what they do."