SAM ALLARDYCE is targeting two more outfield additions in the final 11 days of the transfer window, and is ready to move on to some overseas attacking targets if Swansea City refuse to display a willingness to negotiate over Andre Ayew.

The Sunderland boss has recruited Jan Kirchhoff and Dame N’ Doye, who will be named in the squad to face Bournemouth tomorrow, this month, but remains determined to add another centre-half and attacker before the transfer deadline on February 1.

The centre-half will not be Lamine Kone, with Sunderland having broken off negotiations with the Lorient defender for a second time this week, and the attacker is looking increasingly unlikely to be Ayew, with Swansea officials having reiterated their reluctance to sell the Ghana international to a relegation rival yesterday.

Allardyce, who is also looking to recruit a new third-choice goalkeeper following Costel Pantilimon’s departure to Watford, has always claimed that this month’s recruitment would go a long way towards determining Sunderland’s Premier League fate, and having created some additional room on the wage bill this week, the Black Cats manager is determined to make further additions.

“Realistically, I think we’re probably looking at another two players coming in,” he said. “That’s being realistic in terms of the size of the task of finding players and negotiating in the period of time that remains.

“There’s a certain level of quality you need, and it has to fit in financially. There’s a lot of issues about what you have to put together to be able to clinch a signing, so we’re probably looking at another defender and perhaps an attacking player.

“I’m not really counting a new third-choice goalkeeper, which is a necessity, so I think two outfield players is probably what we’re looking at.”

While Sunderland officials will make a final attempt to prise Ayew from the Liberty Stadium at the start of next week, the former Marseille striker is understood to be the only domestic attacking target on Allardyce’s list.

The 61-year-old would rather be signing players with extensive Premier League experience this month, but admits the financial reality of life in the English top-flight makes it extremely hard to recruit players without shelling out an exorbitant fee.

“It’s the size of the fees and the lack of players’ availability in this country that is the issue,” said Allardyce. “If you’re spending £10m or £15m in this country, it’s not really seen as a big number in football anymore.

“The foreign market has always offered better value for money, and that still applies. The biggest problem is that you shouldn’t really be doing it in January because the risk is greater. But the fact of the matter is that there are far more quality players available abroad than there is in this country because who wants to sell anybody a player in the Premier League at the moment?”

Sunderland’s two January additions to date have come from Bayern Munich and Trabzonspor. N’Doye, who moved on a season-long loan from the latter, is set to be on the substitutes’ bench tomorrow after taking part in his third full training session yesterday. Kirchhoff, who made a €1m switch from Bayern, suffered something of a horror debut as Sunderland lost 4-1 at Spurs last weekend.

Introduced as a second-half substitute at White Hart Lane, Kirchhoff stood off Christian Eriksen as the Dane scored Spurs’ third goal, and fouled Danny Rose to enable Harry Kane to complete the scoring from the penalty spot.

The German could hardly have suffered a more harrowing introduction to life in the Premier League, but having watched his new signing score in a behind-closed-doors training game with Sheffield United this week, Allardyce is confident he boasts the mental resolve needed to bounce back.

The former Bolton boss remembers when Ivan Campo and Jay-Jay-Okocha were both ridiculed following their debuts for the Lancashire club, and is confident Kirchhoff will also make his critics eat their words.

“I remember when Ivan Campo made his debut, and he was called a clown,” said Allardyce. “That was because of his long hair and the way he runs around with ten-to-two feet and doesn’t look like a footballer.

“It was Rodney Marsh who said that, but Ivan was better than him. He never won the Champions League or the league title in Spain.

“It’s hard to make your debut here in England. You think, ‘I’ll be alright here’ – they all say that, right from Fernando Hierro to Jay-Jay Okocha. I took Jay-Jay off at half-time in the first game of the season at QPR, and he almost begged me to take him off because he couldn’t cope.

“In the end, he turned out to be an outstanding player, and Jan will adjust too. He’ll do that quickly and play a part between now and the end of the season, I’m sure of that.”

Whether Kirchhoff is involved in tomorrow’s game remains to be seen, but Allardyce has revealed that Vito Mannone will return to the starting line-up despite having been dropped to the substitutes’ bench for last weekend’s defeat at Spurs.

Jordan Pickford started at White Hart Lane, having impressed in the FA Cup reverse at Arsenal, but the 21-year-old will be back on the bench tomorrow.

“Jordan isn’t the number one – Vito is the number one,” said Allardyce. “I wanted Jordan to go in for a game after his good performance at Arsenal, to see how he can do in the Premier League.

“But we’ve assured Vito that for the time being, he’s the number one and will continue to be the number one until such time as his performances don’t deserve that position.”