LEE JOHNSON has claimed that Sunderland’s ability to bring in a new forward ahead of next Tuesday’s transfer deadline is not contingent on the club moving on Will Grigg.

The Black Cats head into the final five days of the transfer window still looking to do business in a number of different areas, with a new goalkeeper and full-back featuring prominently on Johnson’s list of priorities.

Recruiting an additional forward is also a key aim, with Sheffield United’s Daniel Jebbison still a leading loan target despite suggestions that Everton are looking to tie up a permanent deal for the youngster.

It has been suggested that in order to sign another striker, Sunderland would first have to either sell or loan out Grigg, with the Northern Irishman still among the club’s highest earners despite failing to feature in a single league game this season.

Johnson insists that is not the case, although he remains keen to offload Grigg before the transfer window swings shut on Tuesday night.

“The two things are not necessarily connected,” said the Sunderland boss, whose side return to League One duty with a home game against Wycombe on Saturday. “I don’t think that’s the case.

“Obviously, you’ve got to work to a budget, but depending on what goes on over the course of a season, budgets adjust, realign, go over or come under. That’s just the way it works.

"You’re always trying to maximise what you can do and what you’ve got, and in the end, that will determine whether, as a manager, a coach and a club, you can maximise the value of what you’ve got.

“It’s been difficult times through Covid for all clubs, and that applies to us as well. It’s a big old club with a lot of square footage to manage and control. It haemorrhages money, make no mistake about that, but we’ve also got to try to be competitive.

“I think we’ve done well – we’ve changed a little bit in terms of the type of player we’ve brought in, but we’ve also brought in experience and quality as well as re-signing the ones that we wanted to.”

Sunderland are keen to sign another goalkeeper before the end of the month, and have been linked with a possible move for their former shot-stopper Vito Mannone, who is currently contracted to French side Monaco.

The Black Cats currently boast Lee Burge and Anthony Patterson on their books, but Johnson has conceded that further competition would be desirable.

“As I’ve said before, we’re always looking in all positions,” he said yesterday, when asked directly about the likelihood of another goalkeeper arriving. “At a club like Sunderland, everybody’s got to expect a heavy shirt and to have competition.

“The players know that it’s the nature of the business. The higher up you go, maybe there’s more security, but we’re always looking to improve, in all areas.”

Johnson also revealed that there is still a chance of Sunderland re-signing Denver Hume, even though the full-back has consistently turned down the club’s offer of a new deal.

Hume’s previous contract expired earlier this summer, but he has been rehabilitating at the Academy of Light following a hamstring operation and is yet to agree terms with alternative employers. If he was to leave, Sunderland would be due compensation.

“It’s not something that’s been completely shelved because it’s an ongoing process,” he said. “That process did have a chronological order that had to be hit, and I presume we’re at the back end of that chronological order now.

"I think that’ll be a relatively short period of time before we actually get a resolution on that one.”

Sunderland head into their weekend game against Wycombe with Burge having completed his recovery from a leg injury, but with Corry Evans still touch and go after a hamstring complaint.

“I think Burgey will be fine,” said Johnson. “Then you’ve got Corry who has been out on the grass for a couple of days and looks in a better place, which is good.

“If it was an absolute cup final on Saturday then I think he could play, but there’s a couple of trains of thought with that.

"One is that he’s been called into the Northern Ireland squad, so it’s a good chance to build him up and let him build his fitness levels. But then two is to thrust him again and sink or swim.”