Sunderland are exploring the prospect of building a London base.

The Sun says they are looking into a bizarre plan to set up a training camp in London — over 200 miles from Wearside.

The hush-hush project would see the first-team squad split their time between their current North-East base and a new home down south.

The idea is to make the Black Cats more attractive to foreign or even London-based players and make it easier to sign top talent.

If players did not have to move to join boss David Moyes on the North East coast — famed for its freezing weather — they might sign and have their family base near the capital.