Paulo Da Silva in but Cats after more

Jul 14 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

Sunderland have upped their bid for Wigan’s Lee Cattermole and, despite the Latics’ resistance, it is a move that Bruce is desperate to push through. He wants more natural leaders in the dressing room.

Moves for Peter Crouch and Darren Bent are yet to come to fruition and Bruce may turn to other striker targets. Crouch is believed not to want to move to the Black Cats, while Bent is proving more expensive than first anticipated.

Meanwhile, Roy Keane has called time on his pursuit of Dean Whitehead and Daryl Murphy – but the duo are still expected to leave Sunderland before the start of the Premier League season.

Ipswich had agreed a combined fee of £5m for Whitehead and Murphy and there was optimism in East Anglia that Keane would be able to convince the pair to drop down a division. But both have turned down a possible reunion with their former boss. Whitehead is reported to be interesting Stoke, while Hull City have been offered Murphy.

But The Journal understands that QPR, who tried to sign Murphy in the January transfer window, may make a move for the Republic of Ireland international.

Keane said: “We did have two players in mind to bring to the club and we were hopeful something could be sorted. But that has not come to fruition. We will now look elsewhere and I have already identified other targets.”

Murphy’s exit could be confirmed by the end of the week and, although Hull boss Brown played down reports that a move was imminent, he did confirm his admiration for the striker when asked yesterday.

Brown is smarting from Campbell’s decision to snub Hull’s interest in favour of Sunderland, and needs to land a new striker to supplement a squad that staved off relegation on the last day of the season. Murphy is an option but Brown said that others were driving his interest in the player.

“I got a call over the weekend saying he was on his way to another football club and would I be interested in taking him? I think he's a decent striker myself but we haven't made any enquiries,” the Hull boss said.