Sunderland boss Roy Keane is ready to offer £2.5 million for Manchester United defender Jonny Evans.

The Daily Mail says Keane could not persuade his former boss Sir Alex Ferguson to sell the Northern Ireland international this summer but Evans has failed to break into the Premier League ranks at Old Trafford.

Keane, however, will be able to assure the ambitious youngster that he will have a regular starting place if he joins him at the Stadium of Light.