News last night that Sunderland were plotting a move for Brighton duo Liam Bridcutt and Will Buckley in the January transfer window appear to have hit a snag.
The story emerging today via Sky Sports' Pete O'Rourke is that the Seagulls have dismissed Sunderland's bid for the highly thought of Buckley, although there's nothing to report on Bridcutt, so no news is good news on that front.
Buckley is a winger who is adept and comfortable on either side, two-footed and pacy. Aged just 24, he still has plenty of mileage in him too, although a recent injury sees him out of action for most of January.
Buckley joined Brighton under Poyet, and the Oldham-born player was very complimentary about the Uruguayan on his dismissal from Brighton;
I owe him [Poyet] massively to my career and a few of the other players do to.
The sticking point could be that Sunderland's opening gambit of £1m is not enough, and just matches what they paid for him from Watford in 2011. Watford are also owed 15% of any sale of Buckley, so Poyet must up his bid if he wants to land the winger.