Sunderland boss Steve Bruce says he is shopping at the top end of the summer market.

Bruce intends to focus on recruiting a small number of high-quality players to the club with a view to building on their 13th-place finish in the Premier League next season.

"We're in an area at the moment where we are going for quality rather than quantity, so you are looking at a handful of players, who won't come cheap, but will hopefully take us on to the next level," he said.

"Part of the overall strategy, though, is to ensure that we don't carry surplus players who would have more chances elsewhere.

"I don't want to go into detail, but there would be a significant saving in wages if we were able to move on a number of players who are free to find other clubs.

"It's a very important part of the summer strategy for us, because that is money what we could spend elsewhere.

"The owner has been very generous with his funding, but we can't expect him to keep putting his hand in his pocket."