Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn admits the club have a 50-50 chance of signing Preston striker David Nugent.

The Black Cats held talks with the 22-year-old frontman last Friday after they and another club were given permission to speak to him.

However, Nugent went away on holiday afterwards to recover from his exertions with England at the European Under-21 Championships, and his suitors were left anxiously awaiting his return.

Quinn said: "We are one of two clubs, we believe, who have agreed, and he has gone away on holiday to think about it. We hope he will come back with the right decision. We will just have to wait and see.

"Would it be 50-50? It must be. The paper reports have been fairly accurate - not all of them - but we will see.

"He needs a bit of time. He has been playing football all the while. He came home and a day later, his whole career had to be decided. He has gone off to have a little break and we will see how he gets on with that."

West Ham, Portsmouth and Manchester City have also been linked with the former Bury striker, while talk continues of Everton, the club he supported as a boy, joining the chase.

Sunderland have already signed Reading full-back Greg Halford and Aberdeen skipper Russell Anderson for a total of £4million, but with manager Roy Keane having around £25million to invest, big things are expected on Wearside.

That was illustrated tonight when hundreds of fans braved persistent rain over the Stadium of Light to attend the launch of the club's new away kit.

Season tickets sales have exceeded 30,000 after Quinn successfully took his quest to reconnect the fans to the club to the city's pubs and clubs. However, the excitement has been tempered by the need for patience as the big breakthrough for which the supporters are hoping yet to materialise.

Reports today suggested the Black Cats had seen a £3million bid for Wigan full-back Leighton Baines rejected, and while there was no confirmation from the Latics, manager Chris Hutchings is confident the highly-rated England Under-21 international will remain at the JJB Stadium.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "Baines has told me he is happy to stay and I am certainly not looking to sell him."

Quinn tonight told Sky Sports News he remains optimistic Keane will get the players he wants. He explained: "The market is very very hot and we are trying very hard.

"We are in discussions with other clubs and are trying to do things properly, not through the media or agents. If it takes a little bit longer, so be it - but we think we will find the targets that we are after."

On Anderson, Quinn added: "Russell is a really good signing for us. This club needs leaders and we see a bit of Kevin Ball in Russell.

"Roy wanted to get him and the player's character seems fantastic. Roy mentions character all the time and Russell is someone who will fight for the cause. He'll wear the jersey with pride."