Sunderland transfer news: Tony Mowbray's revealing verdict on links to TWO Blackburn Rovers players

And the head coach made clear that he has not asked the recruitment team to pursue a deal for either of the players who he managed at Blackburn Rovers to major success.Both have struggled for regular game time under Jon Dahl Tomasson at Ewood Park of late, though Dack started against Preston North End on Sunday.Mowbray is not in control of recruitment on Wearside and so his comments do not rule out a January move for either player, but they do suggest that finalising a deal would be challenging.

"I've not spoken about any of those players, perhaps it's just because they haven't been in the Blackburn team of late," Mowbray said.

"I don't know, all I can say is I've not spoken to any of our staff about either of those players.

"I'm not asking those questions - Bradley has had two years out with injury and in my mind that would be a big gamble for our club. Listen, what I do know is that Dack is a player who gets you goals. He plays off the striker a bit like what we've seen from Griezmann, gets in the box and gets those tap-ins. But he's had a long time out and financially, I would suggest that's very unlikely with our club. That's honestly not something I've discussed with anyone.

"John Buckley [the same]... he rose out the academy and became a really talented player for us, with a real growth mindset, he wants to get on the ball and drive forward. I'd suggest that there are lots of reasons that conversation wouldn't materialise.

"If Blackburn were to sell him that would be a lot of money - I'd suggest it's very unlikely."

Mowbray has been involved in some of Sunderland's recruitment meetings ahead of the window and has offered feedback on the positions in which he feels the team could do with some additional strengthening.

He, like both Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, have strongly suggested that the window is likely to be nowhere near as busy as the previous three or four during which the squad has undergone relatively major surgery.

Mowbray admits he is not sure the extent to which Sunderland will invest next month but has stressed that he expects it to stick largely to the model of spending fees on young players with significant future resale value.

That adds extra context to his comments as to the links with both Dack and Buckley.

“I’d have to say that it’s [what is going to happen in January] not crystal clear to me yet," he admitted.

"I am involved in some of the conversations around recruitment, but not all of them. I’m not sure how much money we’re going to spend, I’m not sure whether there’s a budget to do certain things or not. Every club does it differently. At my previous club, I was given all the spreadsheets, I knew exactly what the budget was, I knew how much money we had surplus, I knew how much we could spend on the purchase and then how much salary level we had left. That’s not the case here. I sit here with the vulnerability of not really being able to give an answer about what might happen because I don’t really know.

"The club might surprise us and spend lots of money, or they might bring some free transfers in and give them a decent salary or they might spend a few million quid on some young players whose salary expectations are not as high. I don’t know the other to that, other than saying that I do believe the club will continue to grow and continue to bring talent in.

"It’ll probably be young talent that needs polishing, but I knew that would be the case when I took the job on."

Louis-Dreyfus said earlier this week that he expected the club to be able to target 'specific' areas of the squad, having now established a strong core over recent windows.

Sunderland's incoming business will also of course be additionally impacted by whether any players leave the club or whether any of the current loanees are recalled.

“It’s not just about me saying what I want, it’s about everybody who sits in the meetings – and there might be six people sitting around the table – all giving an opinion," Mowbray said.

"If you think about filling holes in your squad and wanting a squad of players, then you have to look at the loan players that, at some stage, hopefully not January but maybe in the summer, will leave. That will leave a gaping hole in the squad. You have to fill these holes and, in my opinion, if you’re going to be signing young players, it’s almost better to give them the six months until the end of the season to bed in, understand how we play and know what the demands are.

"Then, when the loan players do go back to their parents clubs, we’ve got a player already in the club, in our squad, ready to fill that hole. But then you’re also hoping that he can have an impact on the journey along the way to where he becomes the number nine, or the number ten, or the right winger or the centre-half.”