SAM ALLARDYCE has left Sunderland’s training camp in Austria – but club officials insist his departure has nothing to do with the vacant England job and is simply to deal with ongoing discussions over potential transfers.

As exclusively revealed on The Northern Echo’s website, Allardyce returned to England yesterday afternoon, leaving his players’ training drills in the hands of his senior coaching staff.

His exit will inevitably lead to further speculation about his possible departure to take over as England boss, but a senior club source last night claimed it was ‘business as usual’ and that nothing should be read into his flight from Austria.

Sunderland are pursuing a number of domestic-based targets, and only yesterday, Allardyce was speaking about his determination to force through his first signing of the summer.

The Black Cats boss is due to meet with a delegation of agents in an attempt to seal an ongoing deal, but his presence in England could make it easier for the Football Association to set up a formal interview as they attempt to appoint Roy Hodgson’s successor.

Allardyce will be included on the FA’s shortlist of candidates to replace Hodgson, who resigned in the wake of England’s last-16 exit at the European Championships.

Eddie Howe and Steve Bruce are understood to be his leading English rivals, with United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann potentially featuring in the interviewing process as the only overseas candidate.

Allardyce, who was overlooked for the England job when the FA appointed Steve McClaren in 2006, has never hidden his desire to take charge of his country.

His candidature received a major boost when he received the backing of a number of the footballing figures who were canvassed by the FA’s three-man recruitment team as part of the ongoing recruitment process.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp are among those to have supported Allardyce’s claims, and the FA hierarchy have also been impressed by the 61-year-old’s long-standing insistence that the job of national manager remains the most important in the English game.

There is a strong desire for the new boss to buy into the ‘Team England’ ethos that is being developed at St George’s Park, and Allardyce’s willingness to play a leading role across all of the country’s representative youth teams is seen as a key factor in his favour.

Tellingly, the odds on him becoming the next England boss have tumbled dramatically in the last 24 hours, and last night he had leapfrogged Klinsmann to become the 11-8 favourite in most bookmakers’ markets.

A move to the England role would have major repercussions for Sunderland, who could find themselves looking for a new manager less than a month before the start of the new Premier League season.

Allardyce will continue working diligently until such time as he is no longer Sunderland boss, and he will continue to lead transfer negotiations having outlined his frustration at his failure to land any of his summer targets so far. A move for Davide Santon broke down last week when Inter Milan moved the goalposts over his fee and the former Newcastle full-back refused to agree to a relegation clause as part of his contract.

“We are continuing to strive hard every day,” said Allardyce in an interview with Sunderland’s website. “Not just me because I’m overseeing training with all the players – but on the phone with the recruitment and scouting, trying to find the right deal for the right player to say yes and come and join us.

“It was a huge disappointment for me to not be able to complete the Davide Santon deal a few days ago.

“Everybody thinks that money will make things easier, but it’s actually made it more difficult because we all have the same money and everyone has got so much more expensive. A player that cost £10m last year will now cost £20m, and the one that cost £20m will now cost £35m or £40m.

“That is the unfortunate market we are working in, and we will have to work in that market as shrewdly as possible to get the best player we can. The fans will have to be patient, although I admit my patience is wearing extremely thin. We have to keep striving to bring in those three or four players as quickly as possible.”

Allardyce could find himself up against a former inhabitant of the Sunderland hotseat in the battle to be England boss, as Bruce has also been heavily linked with the post.

The Hull boss is understood to have his supporters within the FA, although he claims he is still to have any contact with the governing body.

“It’s highly flattering and I’m honoured to be linked with it,” said Bruce. “Whether or not it goes any further than that... It's the pinnacle isn't it? To manage your country, there's no bigger job. It's all speculation. There's a lot of people who have written nice things and I'm grateful for that.”