ONE down, one to go. Having completed the signing of centre-half Joel Lynch yesterday, Sunderland are confident of adding Sheffield Wednesday full-back Morgan Fox to their ranks before the League One transfer window closes next Monday.

Lynch joined as a free agent yesterday afternoon, signing a one-year deal following his release from QPR at the end of last season, and his arrival is likely to hasten the departure of Jack Baldwin, who is interesting a number of Sunderland’s League One rivals. Glenn Loovens, who had become an increasingly peripheral figure, was released at the end of last week.

The 31-year-old, who boasts more than 200 Championship appearances, will provide competition for Jordan Willis, Alim Ozturk and Tom Flanagan at the heart of the Black Cats’ backline, but Jack Ross remains determined to land a natural left-back before the window swings shut.

Fox is his number one target, and while Sheffield Wednesday officials rejected Sunderland’s initial offer for the 25-year-old over the weekend, a renewed approach is anticipated in the next 24 hours.

While the Owls hierarchy are adamant they do not have to sell Fox, who was booed by his own supporters ahead of last week’s Championship with Luton Town, the club’s caretaker manager, Lee Bullen, is expected to sanction his departure once Wednesday’s first-choice full-back, Liam Palmer, completes his recovery from injury.

A former Wales Under-21 international who began his career with Charlton Athletic, Fox joined Wednesday in a £700,000 deal in January 2017. He has made 73 senior appearances in the last two-and-a-half years, but has found himself shuffled down the pecking order in the last 12 months, even if Palmer’s absence meant he had to start last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Preston.

Ross sees Fox as the ideal competition for Denver Hume, who returned to Sunderland’s starting line-up in Saturday’s 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon after experiencing a difficult start to the campaign.

The Black Cats boss hopes to be able to wrap up a deal before the weekend, thereby avoiding the need for a deadline-day rush next Monday.

He completed the capture of Lynch yesterday, with the defender eligible to make his Sunderland debut in tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup second-round game at Burnley. Lynch could be involved at Turf Moor, although his lack of a proper pre-season means Ross is more likely to introduce him into the first-team fold on a gradual basis over the next couple of weeks.

“Joel is an experienced defender with a lot of know-how,” said the Sunderland boss. “He has played the bulk of his career in the Championship and will bring a lot of physicality and strength to our squad.

“It is important to have those attributes as a defender and that was why we wanted to bring him to the club. He had interest from elsewhere, so we had to be patient in getting this deal done, but we feel as though we’ve got someone who will strengthen our squad, which is important.”

Born in Eastbourne, Lynch is a graduate of Brighton’s academy and made more than 70 senior starts for the Seagulls. He spent three years at Nottingham Forest, before moving on to Huddersfield under former Sunderland boss Simon Grayson in 2012.

He spent four years at the John Smith’s Stadium, making more than 120 starts, but moved on to QPR in the summer of 2016 in a £1.5m transfer.

“I’ve known about the deal for a week or so and I’m just delighted to get it all done now,” said Lynch.

“I travelled up on Sunday and looked around the place (yesterday). It’s an amazing club and I’m just excited to get going because it has everything you need to succeed.”