DAVID MOYES is on the verge of securing Yann M’Vila’s return to Wearside and he could be joined at Sunderland on a permanent basis by Steven Pienaar.

Moyes has given free agent Pienaar an opportunity to prove his fitness this week by offering him the chance to train with the Black Cats.

Sunderland, who have already had former Newcastle midfielder Charles N’Zogbia on trial, are in desperate need of new players to boost Moyes ahead of the opening Premier League weekend in nine days.

Pienaar hopes to persuade his former Everton boss that he deserves a contract at the Stadium of Light, having been left frustrated by a series of injury problems over the last 18 months.

He also ended up falling out of favour with former Toffees boss Roberto Martinez over the situation and that led to his exit at the end of last season.

But Pienaar is determined to stay in the Premier League and hopes his relationship with Moyes will help if he can prove he still has the fitness levels to play at the highest level.

The Sunderland manager took him to the Premier League in 2007 from Borussia Dortmund and he ended up moving permanently to Goodison Park in a £2m deal a year later.

There was also a spell at Tottenham for the former Ajax midfielder but he ended up returning to Everton and he is keen to be reunited with Moyes at Sunderland for the upcoming season.

He is a versatile player and has always been more of a forward-thinker, although at the age of 34 he is likely to be a more withdrawn midfielder these days.

Sunderland have been active on the transfer front but so far they have failed to confirm any new arrivals. There have been a number of substantial offers placed for new faces and sources close to the club claim they are confident of progress.

Moyes’ first transfer signing of the summer could be M’Vila after a fee was agreed with Rubin Kazan, believed to be around the £4m mark. Rubin, who signed former Barcelona and West Ham midfielder Alex Song this week, have finally caved in after months of wrangling.

The 26-year-old, whose contract with the Russian club was due to expire in January anyway, is expected to formally complete a full-time switch to Sunderland, where he was impressive during his season long loan.

Moyes, like Sam Allardyce and Dick Advocaat before him, is a big admirer of the Frenchman and instructed chief executive Martin Bain to get the deal done. He is also more than happy for the club to continue the pursuit of Tottenham right-back DeAndre Yedlin.

The new Sunderland chief is known to have made contact with Manchester United to discuss a number of available options and Adnan Januzaj’s name has been strongly mentioned.

The Belgian winger is regarded in the £10m bracket by Manchester United and there are a number of other clubs, particularly on the continent like Lazio, who are also showing an interest.

Sunderland are on the verge of offloading another player. Liam Bridcutt has entered the final year of his contract and Leeds United are keen to take him back after last season’s loan.

Bridcutt is understood to be keen on a return to Elland Road and the two clubs have been in discussions over how to structure a transfer fee and the remaining term of his lucrative contract. A deal is on the cards and he should soon become a Leeds player once more.

Sunderland fans travelling to Austria for the tomorrow night’s friendly with Borussia Dortmund have been told that the kick-off time has been brought forward by 15 minutes to 6.45pm local time (5.45pm UK).