Sunderland are not interested in Ryan Porteous despite reports claiming he was a target.

The Hibs centre-back is out of contract in the summer and he has told the Edinburgh outfit that he won't be signing a new deal to remain at Easter Road.

Therefore, a January exit is on the cards and it had been claimed that the Black Cats are one of six sides from the Championship that are keen on bringing in the Scottish international.

However, reporter Alan Nixon has revealed that the Black Cats are not keeping tabs on the 23-year-old ahead of the window opening next month.

"Hibs want to sell him to England. Said that two days back. Sunderland not looking."

Many thought that bringing in a new defender would be a priority for Tony Mowbray in January as they have had some injury issues in that area of the pitch, although Dan Ballard is nearing a return to fitness which will be a welcome boost.

The likes of West Brom, Watford and Norwich are thought to be monitoring Porteous.

The verdict

This is interesting and it's quite surprising because Porteous did seem to be a good fit for Sunderland as he is available for a cheap price and more importantly he is a good player.

But, it's clearly not to be and it will be intriguing to see what business the club finalise in January as you would think a defender will arrive.

In the meantime though, there's plenty of football to be played and Mowbray's first focus will be on getting a result against West Brom on Monday.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.