JACK ROSS remains confident Sunderland will make one more addition before the League One transfer window closes on Monday, but concedes at least a couple of players are likely to leave ahead of next week’s 5pm deadline.

While Denver Hume has performed impressively in the last couple of games, the lack of a natural alternative to the youngster means Ross is determined to sign another left-back.

His search for a new recruit has not proved simple, with Sheffield Wednesday rebuffing Sunderland’s approach for Morgan Fox and Kilmarnock rejecting an offer of around £750,000 for Greg Taylor, who is also the subject of strong interest from Scottish champions Celtic.

The Black Cats retain an interest in both players, but have also approached at least two Premier League clubs about possible loan deals for emerging left-backs who are unlikely to feature in their respective first-team squads this season.

“We’re still confident we’ll do that (sign a left-back) before the window closes,” said Ross, who takes his side to Peterborough United tomorrow afternoon. “I always keep pointing out that it’s not a slight on Denver because he’s been really good over the last couple of seasons. At the moment, he’s in possession of that jersey and that will remain the case.

“But we very obviously need depth on that side, and if we get it, I think we’ve got a really good balance within our squad that allows us to have healthy competition and options pretty much all over the pitch.”

There are likely to be departures ahead of Monday night, with Jack Baldwin’s future remaining extremely uncertain despite his strong display in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at Burnley.

Baldwin is expected to move on in search of regular first-team football, with a number of League One clubs having inquired about his availability this week, while youngster Elliot Embleton is also understood to have been the subject of interest in the last 48 hours.

A number of Sunderland’s fringe players could also depart, with the likes of Jack Diamond, Jack Bainbridge and Jake Hackett under consideration for loan deals.

“It’s possible players might go,” said Ross. “We have one or two at the moment we’ve had inquiries for, and there may be movement on that over the next couple of days.

“It’s not for financial reasons, it’s more about how we manage the squad, and that’s important. Last year, we were a bit bloated, so this year we’ve tried to keep it as streamlined as we can, but make sure that we have enough good options as well.”

Chris Maguire is a doubt for tomorrow’s trip to London Road after missing training yesterday with a knock, while Duncan Watmore has suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury that could sideline him for up to a month.