DAVID MOYES will spend the weekend trying to persuade Sunderland owner Ellis Short to increase his January transfer kitty after the Black Cats agreed to sell Patrick van Aanholt for a fee that could eventually rise to £14m.

Van Aanholt spent yesterday completing a medical at Crystal Palace after Sunderland accepted the Eagles’ offer of a £10m down payment, with a series of clauses that could eventually increase the full-back’s fee by an additional £4m.

The Northern Echo:

Moyes is hoping to plug the gap left by van Aanholt’s departure with a season-long loan for Bordeaux defender Diego Contento, and it is hoped the 26-year-old will travel to Wearside in the next 24 hours to put pen to paper on a deal. Swansea’s Neil Taylor remains an alternative option.

Sunderland will have to pay a loan fee for Contento, who started his career as a trainee with Bayern Munich, but will still bank a massive profit after shelling out just £1.5m to sign van Aanholt from Chelsea in 2014.

Prior to the transfer window opening, chief executive Martin Bain admitted funds would be “very limited”, and conceded it was unlikely that situation would change markedly, even if a high-profile player was to be sold.

Since then, Sunderland have lost Victor Anichebe to an injury that could sideline him for more than a month and Papy Djilobodji to a four-match suspension that was confirmed by the Football Association yesterday.

As a result, Moyes is hoping to receive a proportion of van Aanholt’s fee to enable him to make a couple of additions of his own before the transfer window closes on Tuesday night.

Ideally, he would like to sign a striker, with free agent Robbie Keane still in his sights. The Italian press linked Sunderland with a possible move for Manolo Gabbiadini yesterday, but the €15m-rated Napoli striker is out of the Black Cats’ price range and is close to agreeing a move to Southampton.

Moyes was also linked with Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam this week, but Potters boss Mark Hughes is adamant the Scotsman will not be leaving the Britannia Stadium this month, even though his current contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

Van Aanholt’s departure became inevitable once he submitted a formal transfer request in order to force through a switch to Selhurst Park.

Moyes had initially wanted to hold on to the Dutchman, whose three Premier League goals this season make him Sunderland’s joint second-highest scorer. However, the situation changed when van Aanholt outlined his determination to move on.

“If a player openly states he does not want to play for our club, then it is clear that we have a decision to make,” said Bain. “In this instance and in regard to this particular player, we have done what we feel is right for Sunderland, which will always be our priority.”

Allardyce managed van Aanholt at the Stadium of Light last season, and always claimed his defensive work on the training ground had helped transform the 26-year-old into a much better player.

Van Aanholt joins a Palace side stranded in the relegation zone, but Allardyce is hoping his addition to the Eagles’ squad will help inspire a similar run to the one that took Sunderland out of trouble last spring.

“Patrick will hopefully be looking forward to joining us,” said Allardyce. “I think he was a major saviour in our run last season. After the window had shut, I think that the team grew in confidence and he was a major part of that success story.

“I think his contribution in terms of assists and goals was massive. When it came to defending, he got better with me and listened to what we told him about where the weaker side of his game was. He took that on board, and made it stronger.

“We’ve got a very good player, with great energy. Him and (Jeffrey) Schlupp have increased the speed and energy levels of the squad, which is very important at this level we’re playing at. I will look forward to him joining me again.”

Sunderland’s defensive situation took another turn for the worse yesterday morning when the FA confirmed Djilobodji’s four-match ban.

The centre-half was charged with violent conduct after he was caught on camera thrusting a hand into Darren Fletcher’s face during the closing stages of last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at West Brom.

He opted to contest the charge, but an independent FA hearing upheld the original verdict and having been sent off once already this season against Hull, Djilobodji was issued with a four-game suspension.

He will sit out Sunderland’s Premier League matches against Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Everton, and will not be available to return until the Black Cats host Manchester City on Sunday, March 5.