SUNDERLAND have suffered a double disappointment after Lyle Taylor and Clark Robertson both opted to move to elsewhere despite holding talks with the Black Cats.

Taylor has signed a two-year deal with Charlton Athletic despite being offered a contract at the Stadium of Light, while Robertson is set to agree terms with Championship side Rotherham United.

The failure to land Taylor will be a particular disappointment, as Sunderland boss Jack Ross had identified the 28-year-old, who scored 14 League One goals last season, as one of his leading attacking targets this summer.

Having refused to sign a new deal with his former club, AFC Wimbledon, Taylor travelled to Wearside last week to discuss the terms of a potential deal.

Sunderland’s offer is understood to have been much more financially lucrative than the terms that were tabled by Charlton, but having spent the last three years living in South London, Taylor decided not to uproot to the North-East.

He was formally unveiled as a Charlton player yesterday, and is set to make his first competitive appearance for his new club at the Stadium of Light on the opening weekend of the new League One season.

“He’s my first signing as a manager, and what a signing it is,” said Charlton boss Lee Bowyer. “He was our main target in the summer.

“He obviously had interest from other clubs. There was a big club in our division that made him a much better offer, and I think it just shows the lad’s attitude to come to us.

“His decision to come was based on football, simple as that, and I think that shows where we are as a club and the stature we’ve got. He’s a top striker in this division.”

Sunderland confirmed the signing of attacking midfielder Chris Maguire earlier this week, but Ross is keen to recruit an out-and-out centre-forward as quickly as possible. Ashley Fletcher has returned to Middlesbrough following the end of his loan spell, while there are doubts over the futures of both Joel Asoro and Josh Maja after they rejected new deals on Wearside last season.

Robertson, a 24-year-old centre-half who started his career with Aberdeen, is a free agent after turning down a new deal at Blackpool.

Like Taylor, he met Sunderland officials to discuss a possible deal earlier this month. However, he too has rejected the opportunity to join the Black Cats to move elsewhere.

Rotherham offered him the chance to step up to the Championship, and he has opted to test himself in the second tier rather than remain in League One.

With Robertson no longer an option, Sunderland are expected to step up their pursuit of former Hartlepool defender Jack Baldwin.

They have already held preliminary discussions with the 24-year-old, who has been placed on the transfer list by his current employers, Peterborough United.

Sunderland are also targeting a new left-back, with Bryan Oviedo expected to move now he has finished representing Costa Rica at the World Cup, and are hopeful of finalising a loan deal for Manchester United youngster Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.