• Midfielder keen to join Gus Poyet but wage is a problem • Club also keen to offload Didier N’Dong and Papy Djilobodji

Lee Cattermole could swap League One for Ligue One and become a Bordeaux midfielder before the end of the month as Sunderland attempt to reduce their wage bill by loaning out three high-earners.

With Bordeaux managed by Gus Poyet, who brought the best out in Cattermole during a stint in charge on Wearside, the move appeals to the 30-year-old and the clubs are discussing a compromise over remuneration.

Two successive relegations have left Sunderland in England’s third tier and anxious to shed Cattermole’s £40k-a week wage. However that sum is beyond Bordeaux’s budget, leaving the deal contingent on how much the French club are prepared to contribute towards paying a player whose contract does not expire until 2021.

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Yet with Cattermole making it clear he wants a reunion with Poyet and the Uruguayan making the signing a priority, the move has a good chance of happening before the loan window available to Football League clubs closes on 31 August.

While Cattermole has been training well and came off the bench during last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Luton, Sunderland’s record £13.6m signing Didier N’Dong and the £8m centre-half Papy Djilobodji did not return for pre-season and are not being paid.

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Djilobodji has two years remaining on his £32,000 a week contract but Senegal’s former Chelsea centre-half now seems set to head to the Bundesliga on a season-long loan deal with Hannover where the 29-year-old’s representatives are in advanced talks.

N’Dong, a Gabon midfielder, is also searching for a new club following the collapse of a switch to Torino over personal terms. Sunderland had agreed a £6.6m fee for a 24-year-old who failed to make a single appearance for Watford during a loan spell last season but the former Lorient midfielder is still expected to finalise a loan deal somewhere in Europe before the deadline.

Like Cattermole and Djilobodji, N’Dong took a 40% wage cut when Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League but his contract remains worth around £25,000 a week and has three more years to run.

Jack Ross, the Sunderland manager, said: “They’ve failed to report for work. It’s not a healthy situation. It’s disappointing when professional footballers conduct themselves in that manner. I think it would be to everyone’s advantage if a solution could be found before the end of the window.”