DAVID MOYES is hoping to engineer January deals for Norwich’s Robbie Brady and Everton’s Phil Jagielka as he looks to add some additional experience to his Sunderland squad.

Moyes, who is without an entire team of first-team players thanks to injuries and absences caused by the Africa Cup of Nations, takes his side to Burnley this evening for an FA Cup third-round replay in which he is once again expected to resist the temptation to pack his side with youth players.

Instead, Moyes will continue to rely on a small group of more experienced names, and while his ability to make too many reinforcements during this month’s transfer window is severely restricted by the limited funds at his disposal, he is keen to add at least a couple of established performers to the ranks.

Brady’s name features prominently on his wanted list, with Sunderland officials having spoken to their counterparts at Carrow Road at the end of last week to signal their interest in the versatile Republic of Ireland international.

Brady, who can play at either left-back or in left midfield, will leave Norwich this month, with the Canaries keen to raise money to fund their own squad overhaul as they look to propel themselves back into the Championship promotion race.

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Leicester, Burnley and Crystal Palace have also signalled their interest in the 25-year-old, but Moyes is hoping to force through a deal.

Brady’s capture would place a huge question mark over the future of left-back Patrick van Aanholt, who was the subject of an unsuccessful £8m bid from Crystal Palace last week.

Moyes’ interest in Jagielka reflects his admiration for the 34-year-old centre-half, who was an integral part of his successful back four at Goodison Park.

Jagielka is due to meet with Everton boss Ronald Koeman later this week to discuss his future, having made just two appearances since the start of December after falling down the pecking order on Merseyside.

The England international was an unused substitute in Everton’s weekend win over Manchester City, with Koeman, who is hoping to agree a January deal for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, preferring to start with 20-year-old Mason Holgate in a five-man defence alongside Ashley Williams and Ramiro Funes Mori.

The Northern Echo: Everton's Phil Jagielka celebrates scoring the only goal of the game

West Ham have also inquired about Jagielka’s potential availability, although Hammers boss Slaven Bilic would prefer to seal a deal for Jose Fonte or Mamadou Sakho. That could leave the path clear for Sunderland to engineer a deal of their own, although Moyes could struggle to meet Everton’s asking price.

As things stand, the Sunderland boss would rather not agree to a swap deal that would see Lamine Kone moving in the opposite direction to Goodison Park, with Everton making up the shortfall between the two players’ valuations, although such a scenario has not been taken off the table entirely.

Jagielka signed for Everton in 2007, in a move from Sheffield United worth around £4m, and has entered the final 18 months of his current deal.

Moyes regards a lack of Premier League knowhow as a key factor in his side’s struggles this season, which partially explains his reluctance to play some of Sunderland’s youngsters despite his lack of options.

A number of supporters have criticised the Scotsman’s reluctance to play Joel Asoro and Ethan Robson in particular, but while Moyes has turned down approaches from a number of Football League clubs looking to secure a loan deal this month, he continues to want to tread carefully with a group of players who have enjoyed success at Under-23 level.

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“I’ve been here long enough, so I’ve seen them play regularly and I have an idea about them,” said Moyes. “Some of them are very young, and hopefully they develop into really good players.

“At the moment, we don’t have an awful lot of resources. Our numbers are down, but we will get players back from injury and we will get players back from the Africa Cup of Nations. But in this period, we are short.”

Sunderland’s lack of squad depth means they could have done without this evening’s trip to Turf Moor, although Moyes continues to insist he would rather be facing a third-round replay than have been knocked out of the FA Cup in the original game at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats were embarrassed as they crashed to a 4-1 league defeat at Burnley on New Year’s Eve, but Moyes is confident his players will not be fazed by a return to the scene of one of their most difficult afternoons of the season.

“I’m glad we’re still in the cup and we have a chance to get through,” said the Black Cats boss. “I would like to go through. I wouldn’t (prioritise) it over being in the Premier League, I can tell you that, but in the same breath I’d like to be through.

“Any win here can boost us. We’ve played well at home recently, and we had a great performance against Liverpool. Saturday’s individual mistakes (against Stoke) were the reason we lost – we never got the chance to see how well we actually played.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche is likely to revert to the bulk of the side that drew on Wearside as he looks to progress, with Joey Barton and Sam Vokes expected to return to the starting line-up.

Sunderland (probable, 4-3-3): Mannone; Jones, Denayer, Djilobodji, van Aanholt; Love, Rodwell, Larsson; Borini, Defoe, Januzaj.