Sunderland owner promises conditional spend

It has been a slow summer at the Stadium of Light so far as all Martin O'Neill's promised squad improvement has managed to attract is barrenly slow-moving tumbleweed negotiating its way through the banks of the river Wear.

Okay, perhaps it's harsh to call ex-Aston Villa centre-back-come-right-back Carlos Cuellar tumbleweed, but the Spaniard's free transfer remains the only piece of business at Sunderland despite a series of links with various rumoured targets.

But despite the Hartlepool Mail saying that O'Neill has promised just a reluctant influx of free transfers and loans initially, club owner Ellis Short has announced he is willing to fund a foray into the market, but warned that he will not be spending for the sake of it after announcing his displeasure with a sub-mediocre 13th place finish last season.

Short told Sky Sports that O'Neill and the club were working hard to identify potential targets, but with a top ten finish the target for Sunderland in the upcoming season, he will only splash the cash on the players who will bring quality, and not quantity to the squad.

Local media group the Journal have reported that O'Neill is looking abroad for cheap talent to supplement his squad, as well as Manchester City's Adam Johnson, who could be allowed to move North.

Short's quest to show ambition however will lead to the billionaire owner investing some more of his hard earned, as well as pumping the reported £7 million garnered from the sale of Asamoah Gyan, into the club, but he urges O'Neill to air on the side of caution in order to improve the Black Cat's position in the Premier League.

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