SUNDERLAND are set miss out on Marcos Alonso, with their former loanee poised to sign a new deal with Italian side Fiorentina.

The Black Cats have been reassessing their options after a disastrous start to the season that sees them propping up the rest of the Premier League after two games, with the poor form of left-back Patrick van Aanholt proving especially alarming.

Having previously been prioritising the purchase of an attacking midfielder and a striker, both head coach Dick Advocaat and sporting director Lee Congerton have been forced to accept that defensive reinforcements are also required.

Alonso, who was close to completing a £2.5m move to Norwich City earlier in the summer, only for talks to break down, had been regarded as a potentially viable target in the left-back berth.

The Spaniard made 20 appearances for the Black Cats during a loan spell in the second half of the 2013-14 season, but despite having previously looked like leaving Fiorentina earlier in the summer, his father and agent, Marcos Alonso Snr, has now hinted that he will remain with the Serie A side beyond the end of the transfer window.

“Marcos feels good in Florence and he gets along well with new coach Paulo Sousa,” he said. “I am optimistic about his (contract) extension – there should not be any problems.”

Sunderland have been linked with another of their former left-backs, Kieron Richardson, but as of yet there has been no approach to Aston Villa officials for the 30-year-old.

However, Richardson, who is valued at around £2m, would potentially be available following Villa’s summer capture of Jordan Amavi.

The Black Cats, who have limited funds available for the remainder of the transfer window, are also monitoring the availability of FC Utrecht striker Sebastien Haller.

Haller, who is available for around €7m, only joined Utrecht on a permanent basis at the start of the summer after impressing while on loan from French side Auxerre in the second half of last season.

Brentford have already had a bid of around €6m rejected for the 21-year-old, who has scored three goals in the opening two games of the Eredivisie season, and Sunderland officials are pondering a formal approach of their own.

Sunderland’s scouting team are understood to have travelled to Holland to watch Haller on a number of occasions last season, and the youngster is regarded as a much more realistic proposition than Fenerbahce’s Moussa Sow, who has been linked with the Black Cats on a regular basis this summer.