GUS POYET admits Sunderland are struggling to make progress with any of their January transfer targets, but has denied he will have to lose a member of his current first-team squad before he is able to bring in a new signing.

Ideally, Poyet would like to strengthen both his defence and attack this month, but having previously spoken of his desire to move quickly once the transfer window opened, the Black Cats head coach has been forced to acknowledge the difficulty of making additions during January.

Celtic centre-half Virgil van Dijk remains a leading defensive target, with Sunderland’s chief scout, Steve Houston, having personally watched the Dutchman play against Kilmarnock on Monday, while Danny Ings and Pierre-Andre Gignac continue to be of interest at the other end of the field.

However, having recruited nine players during the summer, Sunderland’s January transfer budget is extremely limited, making a major addition this month extremely unlikely.

“We are working on it, but it’s a very difficult window,” said Poyet, who categorically ruled out any interest in Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo, who is available on loan. “After nine days, how many bits of business has there been in the Premier League? It’s not easy.

“We are all looking for the same. We all want the beautiful, good looking, young, clever player who is going to change your life. There are lots of rumours, but we are working.”

At the end of last month, Poyet delivered a number of statements underlining the need for attacking additions in particular, with his words interpreted as an attempt to put pressure on sporting director Lee Congerton, who is the driving force behind Sunderland’s recruitment process.

Congerton’s room for manoeuvre is limited by Ellis Short’s reluctance to sanction any major investment on players this month, though, with the arrival of nine players in the summer having accounted for the vast majority of the annual recruitment budget.

That position could change if a player was to leave before the end of the transfer window, but Poyet insists he is not under any pressure to move someone on in order to create an opening for a new recruit.

“I’ve not been told that,” he said. “Not in the summer, not now. But I want between 23 and 25 players because 27 or 28 is too many.

“I had 26 in one training session here and it was too much. You want 22 and a third goalkeeper makes it 23, maybe with a couple of youngsters 24 or 25.

“With more than that, it is difficult to look after everybody. So if someone leaves, maybe that will leave a gap which we can use in a different way. But that is only in terms of the numbers, nothing else.”

Jozy Altidore is the player most strongly linked with a move away from Wearside this month, with a number of MLS sides interested in offering him a return to his native United States.

Were Altidore to leave, Sunderland would surely have to recruit another striker to plug the gap, and for all that the 25-year-old has been a major let-down with the Black Cats, his stock remains high in the States thanks to his exploits for the national side.

It remains to be seen how much Sunderland would demand for a player who cost them £6.5m when he signed from AZ Alkmaar in 2013, and they are still to receive a formal approach.

“They know more in America than me,” said Poyet. “Two or three months ago the agent said he was coming over to talk, but right now there has been nothing. Jozy is in the squad (for today’s game against Liverpool).”

Poyet’s options would be increased if Sunderland boasted a pool of youngsters knocking on the door of the first-team squad, but unlike at Newcastle, where three or four players have progressed from the development side in the last 12 months, the Black Cats do not have anyone on the brink of senior recognition.

The lack of a successful academy production line will be highlighted by the return of Jordan Henderson this afternoon, as aside from Jack Colback, who left to join Newcastle in the summer, the current Liverpool skipper is the last player to graduate from the Academy of Light to become a Premier League regular.

“We’re trying (to bring young players through), but it’s not going to be easy,” said Poyet. “It’s a challenge, and without any doubt we need to produce those players.

“It’s up to us, and we can’t blame anyone else. At some stage, somebody has to stand up and do well. It needs to be a player who puts themselves forward.

“We’re trying for that, and there are four or five who are getting closer. I don’t know if they’re going to go straight into the first team – maybe they’ll need a loan first – but getting that is key for any team in the Premier League with the way the finances are nowadays. You need to produce players from your academy.”