Sunderland are interested in signing Shrewsbury Town midfielder Ollie Norburn on a permanent deal, Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed.

The Black Cats are seemingly keen to add a midfielder to their ranks this month, although it seems they may have missed out on the loan signing of Greg Docherty from Rangers, with reports earlier on Monday claiming that Charlton Athletic have stolen a march in the race for his signature, after talks over a move to the Stadium of Light broke down over wages.

According to this latest update, Sunderland have now identified Norburn, who linked up with Docherty during the latter's loan spell at Shrewsbury last season, as a potential alternative target to the Rangers man.

Norburn joined Shrewsbury from Tranmere Rovers back in the summer of 2018, and has since gone onto make 72 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 14 goals.

The 27-year-old only signed a new three-year contract at Shrewsbury last summer, securing his future at the New Meadow until the summer of 2022.

Sunderland are currently sixth in the League One table, ten places and seven points better off than Shrewsbury.

The Verdict

This could be a useful signing for Sunderland.

They certainly seem keen on a central midfielder, and they could do worse than to look at some such as Norburn, who has impressed since making the step up to this division.

That being said, the midfielder's contract situation at Shrewsbury puts his current club in a strong position to negotiate a deal here, and it will be interesting to see how far Sunderland will go in order to secure this signing, with their commitment to spending one way or another possibly an influential factor in the mood from the stands at the Stadium of Light.