DICK ADVOCAAT will make a new long-term deal for Lee Cattermole the main priority of his first few weeks as Sunderland’s permanent head coach.

Having agreed to make a surprise return to Wearside on Wednesday – a move that came a matter of days before Sunderland officials were set to open formal negotiations with Burnley boss Sean Dyche – Advocaat is set to be in close contact with sporting director Lee Congerton this week as the pair finalise their plans for the summer.

Some of those discussions will relate to transfers, with Black Cats owner Ellis Short having pledged to support Advocaat’s request for “five or six quality additions”, but there will also be talks over those players currently at the club who are coming towards the end of their contract, with Cattermole’s future regarded as especially significant.

The 27-year-old midfielder will enter the final year of his existing deal at the end of this month, and Advocaat is determined to tie him down to a new long-term contract as quickly as possible.

The pair enjoyed a close working relationship in the final two months of last season, with Advocaat regarding Cattermole and skipper John O’Shea as his two key dressing-room lieutenants.

Sunderland officials have already held preliminary discussions with Cattermole and his representatives, and with the Teessider keen to remain at the Stadium of Light, there is every chance of a new deal being agreed relatively quickly.

Stoke City have been heavily linked with Cattermole in the past, and Mark Hughes would be keen to rekindle his club’s interest if there was any indication that Sunderland were willing to sell the combative central midfielder.

Advocaat is adamant that should not be allowed to happen though, and formal talks are expected to take place before Sunderland’s players return to pre-season training next month, with the Dutchman understood to have suggested a lengthy deal that effectively ties Cattermole to Wearside for the vast majority of the rest of his career.

Advocaat will also have a significant input into the ongoing discussions over the other Sunderland players whose contracts are close to expiring, and that could result in the release of Wes Brown, who will become a free agent next month.

Brown started just two of Advocaat’s nine matches in charge last season, and after a campaign that saw the veteran centre-half struggle with a succession of injuries, he is unlikely to be offered a new contract.

The same is true of Anthony Reveillere, who was an equally peripheral figure as Billy Jones established himself as the preferred right-back in the final two months of the season.

Like Cattermole, Adam Johnson, Danny Graham and Steven Fletcher are also entering the final 12 months of their contracts, but there will be no decision about Johnson’s future until the completion of the ongoing court proceedings over three counts of sexual activity with a child and one of grooming.

Graham’s Sunderland career looked to be over when he was sent on loan to Wolves last November, but he returned to the Stadium of Light and became a first-team regular under Advocaat, even scoring his first Black Cats goal against Everton. At this stage, the Dutchman would be loath to lose the former Middlesbrough trainee.

Fletcher’s high wages make him a more difficult case to assess, and given that the Scotsman only scored five Premier League goals in the whole of last season, he could be deemed surplus to requirements and sold.

While Short has committed to making a significant investment this summer, he will be looking to recoup at least some of his money through player sales.

Fletcher, who cost £12m when he signed from Wolves in 2012, remains a considerable asset, and newly-promoted Norwich City have already been linked with a potential interest in his services.

The 28-year-old is currently with the Scotland squad preparing for Saturday’s crucial Euro 2016 qualifier with a Republic of Ireland side managed by the man who brought him to Wearside, Martin O’Neill, and was delighted to receive confirmation of Advocaat’s decision to return to Wearside last week.

“It’s good news for us as he’s done brilliantly since he came in,” said Fletcher. “He’s kind of similar to Martin in the way he takes you aside and speaks to you, which I like.

“You could tell he took a real shine to the lads by the way he got so emotional after the Arsenal game. He likes to get forward a lot, and that suits us with the players we’ve got.

“In the three years I’ve been at the club, we’ve been down at the bottom of the league at the back end of the season, so if we can have a good start and give ourselves a fighting chance, that would be good.”