LEONARDO ULLOA has threatened to go on strike in order to force through a move to Sunderland ahead of tomorrow night's transfer deadline.

The Black Cats have lodged three separate bids for Ulloa, and are understood to have matched Leicester's £7m asking price for the striker.

The Northern Echo:

However, the Foxes do not want to sell the 30-year-old to a club they perceive to be one of their relegation rivals, having also turned down the offer of a loan deal from Galatasaray.

Sunderland are hoping to conduct further discussions ahead of tomorrow's 11pm deadline, and Ulloa has taken to Twitter to claim he will not play for Leicester again, even if they refuse to allow him to leave the King Power Stadium.

Ulloa tweeted: "With all respect for LCFC FANS. I feel betrayed by Ranieri and let down by the club. I will not play again for them..."


Meanwhile, Sunderland have completed a £7.5m double deal for former Everton duo Bryan Oviedo and Darron Gibson.

Oviedo has signed a three-and-a-half year deal to replace Patrick van Aanholt, who joined Crystal Palace for £14m earlier today, while Gibson has put pen to paper on an 18-month deal.

"Bryan is a very good player and he’ll help us get forward," said Moyes. "He’s quick and overall he’s a decent left-back.

"I signed him for Everton from Copenhagen as cover for Leighton Baines at the time, and he’s only not getting in because of how well Leighton’s done.

"He’s 26 which is a good age for us and I think he’s a really good character – a good boy – and I’m hoping he’s someone who will help us over the years.

"We’ve got Darron on an 18-month contract and I think he’s a very good footballer - he’ll add a bit of quality with his passing and his play and I’d love him to add goals.

"He has a really good strike and if he can add goals from midfield it would be a big bonus."



Van Aanholt's move to Selhurst Park this morning, and Moyes was keen to stress it was his decision to sell the full-back, rather than something he was forced into in an attempt to raise money.

He said: "I am disappointed because I think Patrick is a really good player, but it was my decision to sell him just in case anyone thinks it was Ellis (Short). It was not his decision, it was mine.

"There were several reasons for it. I felt it would allow me to bring in other layers because of the level of wages. The sale meant I had opened up the ceiling allowing me to get players in.

"I have known for a while what Pat’s thoughts were, but it was always going to be difficult getting a replacement. That was the thing.

"We had an idea of players we might be looking at if we could do anything in January and one was not necessarily a left-back. So when this came in, it turned it up a wee bit."

Jordan Pickford has returned to light training, but is not available for tomorrow's home game with Tottenham. Lynden Gooch has played in a development game, and could feature in the squad.

Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong are both available are returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, although Moyes will have to assess both players' fitness levels before deciding whether they are ready to start.

He said: "Didier played the games and Kone has not, so we are more concerned about his level of fitness.

"They have trained over the weekend, hopefully we will have both available. We need them back in the team."