Fresh from his appearance on the latest Roker Rapport podcast, which you can watch in full below, Stewart Donald made his way into the BBC Newcastle studios to appear on Total Sport with Simon Pryde yesterday.

During his interview, Sunderland’s owner discussed the prospects of adding to the first-team squad and said although Duncan Watmore and Charlie Wyke are due back, there will likely be some movement in the January transfer window:

Any finances we can save now we can use at a later date but I don’t think Jack [Ross] wants a huge overhaul. We did a lot of work in the first transfer window we had, not quite as much as we thought we would but I think we made real progress in that. If we can get Duncan [Watmore] back and get Charlie [Wyke] back into that squad, then it shouldn’t need that much more to keep the momentum up and have a strong finish.

He then expanded on those comments and said we may make a move for a striker, depending on Wyke’s progress once he returns from injury but a centre-back arrival is also a possibility, as fixtures will start to pile up in the second half of the season:

Jack would like a couple potentially. We may look at a striker depending on - making sure Charlie [Wyke] comes back. I think we are comfortable in midfield, we think we have got enough wingers. Possibly a centre-back addition, top-end and back-end of the pitch just to make sure we have got enough numbers and enough quality.

Donald also revealed that he made a ‘cheeky’ attempt to sign former Sunderland favourite Jermain Defoe in the summer but was given a resounding no, although admitted he might try again:

I asked in the summer if we could [sign him] and the answer came we couldn’t. We might ask again but it was a pretty strong no. It was a cheeky request though. I was wondering if they might contribute [to his wages]. In the Premier League they like to have X amount of strikers don’t they? He’s a quality striker so I’m not sure, I think they’ll keep him to the end of the season is the vibe I got.

You can listen to the interview in full on BBC Newcastle’s website HERE.