TORONTO want American striker Jozy Altidore to decide on his future before the end of the month as Sunderland weigh up whether to tempt Jermain Defoe to Wearside.

Sunderland are just a point above the relegation zone after Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool and head coach Gus Poyet is desperate for some transfer movement.

The possibility of landing Defoe is a genuine one, after Toronto made it clear that the former England forward is available for a return to the Premier League before the transfer deadline on February 2.

The 32-year-old has been told to explore his options over here and is being linked with a number of clubs, including Queens Park Rangers. Sunderland, who have regularly targeted him over the last six years, are in the mix if they are willing to compete for his wages.

But what makes the situation more interesting is the prospect of Altidore, who Poyet is willing to let go after a frustrating 18 months on Wearside, heading back across the Atlantic as part of a deal.

A deal is far from certain because of Defoe’s wages and he is training with Tottenham's Academy squad, but Toronto are desperate to get a deal done this month. They want any new arrivals – like Altidore – in the squad building up to the start of the Major League Soccer campaign on March 7.

Toronto are unwilling to let Defoe leave for nothing and reports in Canada suggest they have lowered their asking price from £6m to £3m to try to get a quick deal.

There is also a suggestion that they are willing to do a straight swap deal for Altidore, providing Sunderland take on Defoe’s reputed £70,000-a-week salary.

Sunderland have money to spend this month, although sporting director Lee Congerton is under orders from owner Ellis Short to be creative in the transfer market rather than spend for the sake of it. There is, though, an acceptance that Poyet is short of options in the final third.

Poyet was forced to give Danny Graham, wanted by Wigan, an outing as a substitute against Liverpool on Saturday as well as youngster Mikael Mandron.

The Sunderland boss has come under fire since the defeat to Liverpool for some of his tactical decisions. Question marks were raised as to why it took his team until half-time to cope with the visitors’ wing-back system effectively, while there was frustration at his decision to take off attacking players Emanuele Giaccherini, Connor Wickham and Adam Johnson when they were trailing.

Poyet said: “First, because we were chasing the game and we needed something different, I made the changes I did. Will Buckley is the only player who can go in behind. The others are not willing to go in behind. They do not have the right characteristics to do that.

“You need to get in behind defenders. We put Danny on because he has been sharp. Connor was too isolated and there was something missing. I felt Danny would give us something we didn't have first half.

“We had an option to play Ricky Alvarez but he had only trained a day and a half. Then we put Mandron on for Jonno because Jonno became a father on Thursday. He wanted to play but he had not trained or slept so was tired; 85 minutes was enough for him.

“It is decisions. I am not bothered who thinks it is strange. If we score and win I am a genius. If we don’t win (people say) it is a strange situation.”

Sunderland hope to have Lee Cattermole back on the training ground this week after groin trouble, but he has not played since before the turn of the year and may not be risked at Tottenham this Saturday.