SUNDERLAND are hoping to push through a deal for Wigan Athletic striker Will Grigg after tabling a formal offer for the Northern Ireland international.

The Black Cats are set to announce the loan signing of Jimmy Dunne within the next 24 hours after the Burnley defender spent Wednesday afternoon undergoing a medical at the Academy of Light.

Dunne’s arrival will plug a gap in Sunderland’s defensive ranks, but Black Cats boss Jack Ross is also keen to sign a striker and has identified Grigg as his leading target.

Sunderland’s interest in Grigg is not related to the ongoing situation with Josh Maja, who recently turned down the offer a new contract beyond the end of the season.

Grigg has a proven track record of scoring at League One level, having finished the 2015-16 season as the division’s leading scorer with 25 goals.

He scored 19 League One goals last season as Wigan won promotion to the Championship, but has struggled to hold down a place in the Latics’ first-choice line-up this term.

The 27-year-old, who shot to worldwide prominence thanks to the ‘Will Grigg’s on fire’ song that rang around France during Euro 2016, has scored just four goals in 18 appearances this season.

Wigan are understood to be close to making an attacking signing of their own, with Cardiff City’s Anthony Pilkington a confirmed target, and Sunderland are hoping to prise Grigg out of the DW Stadium.

It is thought that any deal would initially be a loan until the end of the season, with Grigg’s current Wigan contract still having 18 months to run.