Sunderland are pressing ahead with an attempt to land Patrick van Aanholt from Chelsea.

Gustavo Poyet has turned his attention to the 23-year-old after struggling to reach an agreement with Fiorentina over the sale of Marcos Alonso.

Van Aanholt, who had a spell at Newcastle on loan a few seasons ago, wants to leave Chelsea following the arrival of Felipe Luis.

And Sunderland are trying to broker a quick deal for the player in the hope of having him on board the flight to Portugal for a pre-season trip.

Poyet takes his squad to the Algarve on Friday and he is hopeful of having at least one new player on the plane with him. Ideally he will have three, although a deal for Fabio Borini looks unlikely to take place before the end of next week.

Alonso has been the preferred left-back signing but he feels van Aanholt can also provide the injection of pace he is looking for down that flank.