SUNDERLAND will make Belgian striker Laurent Depoitre one of their key summer targets – provided they remain in the Premier League.

The Black Cats return to action at West Ham on Saturday lunchtime looking to haul themselves out of the bottom three after closing to within a point of safety courtesy of their recent 2-1 win over Manchester United.

Sam Allardyce remains confident of avoiding the drop, and is drawing up a list of prospective summer targets in the anticipation of planning for another season in the top-flight this summer.

With question marks over the long-term future of Jermain Defoe, and with Steven Fletcher and Danny Graham both having played their final game for the Black Cats, a new striker will be Allardyce’s number one priority in the close season.

Depoitre has emerged as a leading early target, with Sunderland having sent a senior scouting delegation to Gent last week to watch the 27-year-old in Champions League action against Wolfsburg.

The Black Cats were one of a number of Premier League clubs to have been represented in Belgium, with Depoitre expected to be a hot property at the end of the current campaign.

The striker joined Gent as a free agent in 2014, and has scored 22 goals in 57 Jupiler League matches. He boasts 13 goals in all competitions in the current campaign, and is regarded as a physically powerful leader of the line, something that helps explain his appeal to Allardyce.

Aston Villa made a number of inquiries about Depoitre last summer, only to fail to make a formal offer after Gent officials slapped a €14m price tag on the forward’s head.

He is unlikely to be as expensive this summer, given that another 12 months of his existing contract will have lapsed, and while he remains a hugely influential figure within the Gent squad, there is a growing acceptance within the Belgian club’s hierarchy that he could head elsewhere at the end of the season.

“We are getting about two or three (phone calls a week), although this is not direct,” said Gent president Ivan de Witte. “This is usually going through the media of agencies, and bringing us interest of one or two clubs.

“We are very aware of the fact that there is a lot of interest for Laurent Depoitre. So far we have succeeded to keep other players, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to keep Laurent financially.

“But I have a feeling he is also very motivated. He is 27 years old and (might want) to take the bigger opportunity to play in a bigger championship.”

Having signed Wahbi Khazri from Bordeaux last month, Sunderland continue to monitor developments at the Ligue 1 club, with a particular interest in central midfielder Clement Chantome.

Chantome, who spent more than a decade with Paris St Germain before joining Bordeaux in January 2015, is set to become a free agent in the summer and is not expected to sign a new deal with his current employers.

Sunderland have also been linked with Blackburn centre-half Shane Duffy, who is expected to leave Ewood Park this summer as he approaches the final year of his current contract.

The Black Cats return to action at Upton Park in five days’ time, with Khazri hoping their two-week break will have proved beneficial.

“It’s good to recuperate properly and work on a few things because the matches come around so quickly,” said the Tunisian forward. “We’ve got to take it match by match and do what we need to stay in the Premier League.

“We’ve played big games and shown we’re worth more than the bottom three. It’s very tight down the bottom, and all we need is a good run of wins.”