Sunderland handed blow as £1.25million midfielder bid launched - plus Portsmouth, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday updates

Corry Evans penned a two-year deal on Wearside on Thursday as one of the many irons in the fire finally came to fruition.

He joins Alex Pritchard at the Stadium of Light, while Aiden McGeady and Luke O’Nien have also agreed fresh terms with the club this summer.

But Lee Johnson and the club’s recruitment team are keen to seal further new additions, after nine players departed the club over the course of the summer.

Speaking last week, head coach Lee Johnson said that the club had several offers on the table for potential signings.

"We have actually got four or five current bids on the table for various positions so it’s not like we’re not moving,” he said.

“You always look at the transfer market and it's, are they affordable? Are they accessible and are they available? So you don’t bid for somebody unless you feel they are affordable accessible and available and obviously it depends on transfer fee. Agents fees as well and at the moment, I think agents have been pretty unrealistic with the climate to the levels of percentages they want.

“Inevitably, as time goes on the player starts getting a little bit anxious about ‘the other boys are training’ and all his mates are training and he’s not, and things start to move a little bit.

"So I’m confident in the majority of positions in our list and in our actions, but obviously it’s one thing acting on it and getting it over the line.

"What I would say is myself, Kristjian [Speakman], Jamie [McAllister], Luke Coles [analyst], James Young [head of data and analysis] and obviously Stuart Harvey [head of recruitment], we’ve been 7am till 11pm all summer thrashing all these out. I need a holiday!"

So who could be next through the door on Wearside? Here’s the latest transfer talk from around the Stadium of Light and League One...