Sunderland are the latest team to be linked with a summer swoop for Manchester City defender Richard Dunne.

The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international has already been linked with the Black Cats' north-east rivals Newcastle and also West Ham since the Premier League season ended last Sunday.

However, Sunderland boss Roy Keane is now thought to be considering a £2.5million swoop for Dunne, who has had an excellent season at Eastlands.

The current City skipper still has a year to run on his deal but uncertainty over the future of boss Sven-Goran Eriksson seems to have derailed new contract talks. And the longer that issue goes unresolved then it is likely that Dunne will look to gain the security of a long-term deal elsewhere.