By Paul Fraser and Jonathan Barber

DAVID MOYES has given a former Chelsea goalkeeper the chance to stake a claim for a Sunderland contract.

Marco Amelia, who left Stamford Bridge in the summer, is a free agent after he was released by the Blues and has been looking for a new club.

He was cover for Thibaut Courtois and Asmir Begovic and has had the opportunity to head to Nottingham Forest as well. Now he is training with the Black Cats in the hope of earning a deal.

The 34-year-old Italian has also had spells with a number of clubs including Livorno, Palermo, Genoa and Milan and has represented Italy at all levels.

Moyes has been looking for cover and competition for young keeper Jordan Pickford since Vito Mannone tore his elbow ligaments in training and he is out for three months.

Sunderland have lodged an appeal to UEFA after a move for Boavista’s Mika broke down because time run out before the transfer window closed.

It has also been suggested that Newcastle United were among the clubs to have watched Sunderland’s teenage striker Joel Asoro in action for Sweden’s Under-21s against Spain on Monday night. Arsenal, Dortmund, PSG and Lyon were also in attendance.

Sunderland signing Javier Manquillo, meanwhile, has said Moyes was a major reason why he joined the club, despite him finding his Scottish accent difficult to understand.

The 22-year-old moved to Sunderland on a season-long loan from Atletico Madrid and was keen to stress his new manager's pedigree, even with the communication issues.

He said: "Because of the language, his accent, I don't understand him well!

"The manager convinced me to come. He made me feel wanted. He was a key figure in me coming back."

The right-back stressed how highly he rates the Black Cats boss, who is looking for his first league win against former club Everton next Monday.

He said: "I did not follow his time in Spain too closely. But he is one of the great managers in the league - especially after what he did at Everton. He is a great manager.”

Manquillo had a two-year loan at Liverpool cut short in 2015 and is keen to make his mark in England with the Black Cats.

The Spain Under-21 international had a more successful spell in France with Marseille last season and established himself as first-choice full back.

He said: "I played 42 games last season at the highest level. That has given me a lot of experience I did not get at Liverpool. Of course I am a more mature player than I was there.

“Adapting to this club has been made incredibly easy. They have a really interesting project that I want to be involved in.”