MICHAEL BEALE admits Sunderland are struggling to make headway during the transfer window as they “do not have the deepest pockets” in the Championship.

With two-thirds of the January window, the Black Cats, who suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Hull City last night, are still to make a single addition to their squad.

The signing of a new striker is a long-standing priority, with a central midfielder and left-sided defender also on the wanted list, but while a series of discussions have taken place, no deals are imminent.

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Beale insists he and the rest of the club’s recruitment team are working as hard as possible, but has suggested that finances are making it difficult to pull off deals.

The Sunderland boss said: “There’s one or two areas we’d like to strengthen, but it’s a difficult window and we’re not the ones with the biggest pockets in that window in this division.

“We’ll see. We’re working really hard behind the scenes, and we’re trying to bring players in, but I think we’re going to have to be a bit patient.

“My focus as the coach of the team has to be on the players that are in house and not waiting for people to come in from outside to solve it. If people arrive, fantastic. But if they don’t, then I have to get more out of this group, for sure.”

Aji Alese was not part of the squad that suffered a third successive defeat in all competitions last night, with Beale expecting the defender to be sidelined for around a month.

He said: “Aji will be out for a month or so. At the moment, with Dennis (Cirkin) out long term, and Niall (Huggins) and Aji out, it’s not great for us.

“I think we’re also missing a bit of Paddy Roberts, and Bradley Dack obviously has experience in this league, and is a goal threat as well.

“I thought young (Luis) Hemir came on (last night) and had an impact in the game, and I thought Naz (Rusyn) was really honest in his running.”