SIMON GRAYSON has stressed how hard Sunderland are working to bring in an extra attacking option ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Norwich City – and he thinks his search could go right down to the wire.

There is no chance of seeing a new striker on board the flight to Norfolk later today, even though Grayson is being constantly updated by chief executive Martin Bain on the transfer front.

Sunderland are firmly in the hunt for Aston Villa’s Ross McCormack and Preston’s Jordan Hugill; two front-men with very different attributes. The Black Cats hope to get McCormack on loan, while Hugill is rated in the £4m bracket.

It could well be though that Sunderland turn their attentions elsewhere if there is little sign of progress over the next couple of weeks, with the transfer window set to close at 11pm on August 31.

And Grayson, who has made plenty of progress already with improving the mentality of the squad he has inherited, is determined there will be further additions and in the right areas top help James Vaughan and Lewis Grabban out in the goalscoring stakes.

The Sunderland boss said: “Everybody would like those type of signings to be happening. Duncan Watmore coming back will be like a new signing, as he is held in high regard at this club and would give us something different.

“I think it is an area of the pitch where we need to strengthen because it’s where it really matters at the top end of the pitch. People who can make things happen out of nothing and score goals are what you want, but it is never that easy.

“I still think this window will be one where a lot of ins and outs across the country happen in the last week.”

Sunderland have made plenty of changes to the team since Grayson was appointed and they have made a positive start to the campaign, having followed up the opening draw against Derby by defeating Bury in the Carabao Cup.

Norwich at Carrow Road will provide varied problems altogether, not least because the Canaries are a different proposition under Daniel Farke after signing a number of players from the Bundesliga.

Farke was handed the reins at Carrow Road after building a reputation for himself as Borussia Dormund’s reserve team coach and he has brought with him five players from across the North Sea.

Grayson said: “They still have some hardcore British players, like Hoolahan, Naismith, Jerome, Martin … they have the nucleus there, but they have brought in several German players that the coach has obviously worked with in the past.

“For us to work out what they are going to do is a little bit more difficult. In the first game of the season they played three at the back and at half-time they went to four.

“They played four at the back on Tuesday. It’s a little bit suck it and see. We will concentrate on what we need to do to deal with the situation.”

Grayson thinks Farke, 40, has every chance of succeeding like David Wagner did last year at Huddersfield, but he does think the English coaches are often forgotten too easily by boardrooms seeking something different.

He said: “When another club does it and it works, people always think that’s the best way to do it. The coincidence is that Stuart Webb, who was director of football at Huddersfield, has gone to Norwich.

“On the flip side of it, I think there are sometimes too many foreign managers over here. Maybe one or two of these vacancies, whether it be Premier League, Championship or League One, should be filled by British coaches. It’s our country.

“I have nothing against foreign coaches but I would sometimes like to see fellow out of work managers being given opportunities at these bigger clubs.

“I have mentioned that for the last two or three years, that the only chance you really get as a British manager to manage in the Premier League is if you take a team up like Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe.

“They had never managed in the Premier League before they took teams up. That’s disappointing if you were to ask the LMA and the British managers and coaches. Hopefully it doesn’t filter down too much into the Football League because you are robbing good British managers of an opportunity to work here.”