TONY MOWBRAY would like to bring in an experienced central midfielder this month – but admits a move in that area will have to wait until Sunderland’s centre-forward problems are resolved.

The Black Cats’ need for a new striker was exposed once again as they lost at Preston at the weekend, and while Mowbray highlighted the need for immediate action in the aftermath of last week’s Carabao Cup defeat to Crewe, a further seven days have now passed without any progress.

Sunderland’s recruitment team have held discussions over Ukrainian forward Nazariy Rusyn, and the striker was left out of the squad as his current side, Zorya Lugansk, claimed a 2-1 win over Vorskla at the weekend.

The Ukrainian media have reported that Sunderland have made a €2m bid for the 24-year-old, but while discussions are understood to be ongoing, a deal is yet to be agreed.

It is hoped there will be a breakthrough before the Black Cats return to action with a home game against Rotherham United on Saturday, but the ‘number nine’ position is not the only part of the squad causing Mowbray concerns.

First-choice holding midfielder Corry Evans will be sidelined until the turn of the year after damaging his cruciate knee ligaments in January, while Jay Matete, who is back in the Black Cats squad after last season’s loan spell at Plymouth, is also set to be sidelined for at least two months after suffering a serious knee injury of his on during the pre-season tour of the United States.

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That leaves Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah as Sunderland’s first-choice central-midfield pairing, with Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham the only real alternatives.

All four players are aged 21 or under, with Mowbray admitting he would ideally like to recruit a more experienced central midfielder before the transfer window closes. For now, though, getting the right striker through the door remains the overriding priority.

“I think the reality is that we have to get the front end of the pitch sorted out first,” said the Sunderland boss. “But we are mindful that we are a bit light in that central-midfield area. If Dan or Pierre was a to pick up an injury, it suddenly starts to look really thin in that area of the pitch.

“We could drop Jobe in there, but he is a 17-year-old boy. That seems daft because at some stage, if you make a substitution, you’ll have a 16-year-old (Rigg) and a 17-year-old playing centre-mid in the Championship, which is not ideal.

“It’s an area that potentially we might look for a more experienced footballer to help the area out. Dan is 21, Pierre is 21 - it's not as if they are 26 or 27 and have 300 appearances under their belts.”

Given how well he performed with Plymouth in the second half of last season, Matete had been pencilled in for a more prominent role in the Sunderland side this term.

He performed reasonably well in the early weeks of pre-season, but his knee injury is a bad one and Mowbray does not expect to see him back until November at the earliest.

“I think it’s going to be months rather than weeks for Matete,” he said. “Maybe three months - November? It was quite a bad one.

“Hopefully, he will be back before Christmas. I’m sure he will be back before Christmas and competing.

“So, the midfield area is quite light if you think that there’s Dan Neil, Pierre Ekwah, and then Jobe - after that you are into Chris Rigg, who is a 16-year-old boy. It’s an area that maybe we should be looking at.”