Sunderland made a late move for Peterborough United's Mark Beevers in the January transfer window, according to the owner of the Championship club, Darragh MacAnthony.

It's no secret that the Black Cats were keen to strengthen their defensive options last month, and despite bringing in Danny Batth, some still feel they are a player short in that department.

And, speaking on The Hard Truth podcast, MacAnthony confirmed the Black Cats interest in Beevers but explained why a deal wouldn't be done at that stage of the window.

"We had Sunderland come in for [Mark] Beevers. Which was really bizarre. We approached clubs earlier in the window and one of them was Sunderland. I know Lee Johnson did want him. Sunderland at the time decided that they didn’t like his age and his wages.

"And then come deadline day we are getting phone calls from them asking to bring Beevers in. I think they had just lost 6-0. I’m not having a dig at Sunderland but at that stage, we had made the decision."

The verdict

Most Sunderland fans would've wanted to see another defender come in, so you can believe that they went for Beevers, who has been there and done it in League One in the past.

However, MacAnthony's comments suggest the club were desperate towards the end of the window because of the 6-0 loss at Bolton, which doesn't say a lot for the strategy in terms of recruitment.

Either way, the deal didn't happen and Sunderland need to work with what they've got for the rest of the season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.