Sunderland boss Gustavo Poyet has confirmed that the club are still trying to engineer a deal for Liverpool forward Fabio Borini.
The Italian striker had been the subject of a £14m bid earlier this month, but a shoulder injury and a reported desire to stay at Anfield appeared to have torpedoed the deal.
However, a recent report claimed that talks had taken place between the club and player this week, and Poyet stated that there was some truth in the story.
He told the Sunderland Echo: "He is being assessed now for his shoulder injury. That's stopped everything a little bit.
"We will see. I have not held talks with him, but the club has, although that's private. We know where we stand."
Borini spent last season on loan at the Black Cats.
