Roy's £6m Nugent bid

Sportsmail can reveal that Sunderland manager Roy Keane has contacted Preston with a partexchange offer involving Stern John.

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Keane has yet to receive an official reply but is confident after learning that his is the only bid.

It is understood that, in anticipation of Preston giving their consent for talks to begin, Keane has made plans to meet Nugent in Holland, where he is preparing with England for the Under 21 European Championship.

The 22-year-old striker, capped by Steve McClaren earlier in the season, attracted a failed £6mbid from Sheffield United in January and has been linked repeatedly with his boyhood idols Everton.

But Sunderland look to have the field to themselves, following the Bramall Lane club's relegation and apparent misgivings at Goodison Park about whether he would fit in alongside Andrew Johnson.

Keane is believed to have offered two other players as part of the package but Trinidad and Tobago striker John is most likely to appeal to Preston manager Paul Simpson.

There may yet be some negotiating over John's value, as Preston will lose up to 30 per cent of Nugent's fee under the terms of the deal that took him from Bury to Deepdale in January 2005.