Splashing cash no problem for Keane

Manager Keane has been given unprecedented backing ahead of the club's return to the Premiership but moves for David Nugent and Jermain Defoe have ended in disappointment.

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Chairman Niall Quinn has revealed that promotion from the Championship will bank the club about £60m, with almost half of that being handed to Keane for squad strengthening and to ensure there is no repeat of the last campaign in the top flight, when Sunderland were relegated with the lowest points total in Premiership history.

So far, however, only Greg Halford from Reading and Aberdeen's Russell Anderson have moved to the Stadium of Light.

But Keane is adamant he has the money to fight it out at the top end of the transfer market.

He said: "I would have no problem spending £10m on a player. Jesus, I would spend £20m. It would not worry me.

"But it's wrong to spend £10m and get a player who will just grab a few headlines for a few days. I want a player who I think can play a big part at the club. Three or four fees have been agreed in principle and we are waiting for things to fall into place over the next few days."

Chris Baird, Leighton Baines and Kieran Richardson are targets for Keane, who has admitted that the geography of the north-east puts him at a disadvantage.

He said: "I have to say I was in exactly the same position last year before taking this job, thinking 'Oh, I dunno, I don't really fancy going up there'. But that is part of my job; to try and sell the club to the players. Trying to get Dwight Yorke from Sydney wasn't easy but that is part of the challenge. All you want is the opportunity to talk to the player."