Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill is close to completing a deal for Tottenham Hotspur pair Jermaine Jenas and Danny Rose.

The former Aston Villa boss has had a quiet summer with only Carlos Cuellar and Louis Saha arriving at the Stadium of Light, but that could be about to change in the coming days.

The Telegraph is reporting that Sunderland are hoping to sign both the Tottenham players and then turn their attention to strengthening their options in attack, all before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Jermaine Jenas
Jenas has struggled to force his way into the Tottenham first team [Reuters]

Jenas has been informed by Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas that he will not feature in his first team plans after a difficult spell at White Hart Lane in which he has suffered badly with injuries.

The midfielder was loaned out to Aston Villa last season but was unable to make an impact in the side after damaging his ankle in November and being sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Rose has often been used as emergency cover at left-back for Tottenham, but he can also play on the left wing and could well be used as a replacement for Kieran Richardson.

The versatile left-sided player is being linked with a possible transfer to either West Ham or Queens Park Rangers in the Telegraph, and it seems O'Neill may see Rose as a suitable successor.

Spurs have certainly shown they are prepared to allow squad players to leave the club, with Sebastian Bassong today joining Norwich, while Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson have both been linked with a move away from White Hart Lane.

Should O'Neill manage to sign the Spurs duo then he will then turn his attention to a forward after losing Darren Bent, Kenwyne Jones, Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan in the last two years.

One long-term target is Wolves striker Steven Fletcher, who has handed in a transfer request, but the club are holding out for a fee of £15million, £3m more than Sunderland have already offered.