The departure of the England international, coupled with the cancellation of Louis Saha’s contract, leaves Martin O’Neill with just three available strikers – top scorer Steven Fletcher, Connor Wickham and Stephane Sessegnon.
But while Sunderland are confident of boosting their attacking ranks before the January 31 transfer deadline, there is no imminent deal in the pipeline.
Swansea’s Danny Graham remains O’Neill’s number one target, yet the move depends upon the Welsh side reaching an agreement with Stoke City for former Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones as a replacement.
Sunderland will not be making a move for former Birmingham forward Mauro Zarate despite weekend reports linking the Argentine with a loan switch from Italian outfit Lazio.