BRIGHTON have made the path to sign Sunderland’s Paddy McNair a little clearer by deciding not to match Middlesbrough’s offer for the midfielder.

Boro are in pole position to land the Northern Ireland international after having an offer accepted, believed to be worth £5m-plus add-ons, at the Stadium of Light.

Even though McNair is known to prefer a move to the Premier League rather than the Championship, Brighton have decided to cool their interest after the valuation climbed to as high as it is now.

Brighton are known to have made two bids, the second and final of those is understood to have been worth £3.5m and they have decided to take a step back from discussions.

That does not mean Middlesbrough are certain to sign McNair because there is also interest from another Premier League club, newly promoted Wolves.

It remains to be seen whether Wolves will be prepared to go head-to-head with Middlesbrough, although the figure being demanded by Sunderland does not seem to too fanciful even if they are now a League One club.

McNair moved to Sunderland from Manchester United in 2016 along with Donald Love and the bulk of the £5.5m fee was for him.

Injuries have prevented him from making more appearances than he as on Wearside, although when he has appeared he has shown his quality and that he is capable of scoring.

Middlesbrough are on the look-out for a player with an eye for goal from midfield, having relied too heavily on the likes of Patrick Bamford and Britt Assombalonga for goals last season.

Sunderland are looking to bring in extra cash to help fund player purchases even though the club’s owner Stewart Donald insists that departures are not essential.

Donald is hoping to have a number of players in within the next week and has been heavily linked with Barnsley midfielder Stevie Mallan. He worked under Ross at St Mirren before heading to Oakwell a year ago and Hibernian are also keen.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have appointed Paul Reid as academy manager and he has described the aim is to help the club’s youth system thrive.

The Black Cats are undergoing a series of changes on and off the pitch following Donald’s successful takeover.

Now Reid, a former Carlisle and Barnsley player, has been brought in to head up the academy having previously operated on a much smaller scale down at Eastleigh under Donald.

He will have support from the existing team of staff, including assistant academy manager Elliot Dickman, head of coaching Mark McCormick and academy operations manager Leann Cowperthwaite.

Reid said: “This opportunity is the accumulation of many years playing, studying and working within football and I am both excited and proud to be given the role of leading the Academy set up at such a fantastic club.

“A thriving academy is the bedrock of any successful football club. I am looking forward to working alongside the academy team, with the aim of building on the great foundations that are already in place and cementing our reputation as one of the best environments in the country for young footballers to develop and progress.”

Reid made more than 500 appearances as a player after starting his career at hometown club Carlisle. He had spells with Rangers and Preston before joining Northampton and then Barnsley. He represented England at under 18, 19 and 20 levels

He has also worked with a football agency, leading on a number projects both domestically and internationally. When he stopped playing he appointed head of recruitment at Eastleigh, where he combined the role with his masters degree in sporting directorship.