Quinn still waits for Phillips

Niall Quinn hopes to learn in a week if his bid to sign Kevin Phillips has been successful.

Niall Quinn hopes to discover in a week if his bid to bring Kevin Phillips back to Sunderland has been successful.

The Black Cats have made an offer for the Aston Villa striker, who is waiting to learn if he has a future under new manager Martin O'Neill.

Phillips scored 132 goals during six years on Wearside before joining Southampton, prior to his move to Villa Park last summer.

Quinn would be overjoyed to bring the 33-year-old back to The Stadium of Light and hopes a deal will come off.

But, if Villa opt to keep the predatory front man, Quinn is adamant he will not resort to underhand tactics in an attempt to sign the former England international.

"What we're not going to do is tap the player up," Quinn told Sky Sports News. "We're not going to go behind anybody's backs.

"We've played the game from the moment we first got in touch with Aston Villa. They have asked us to wait.

"It's now got to the stage where I think Martin O'Neill spoke to the players as a group and, from what we're led to believe having spoken to Aston Villa yesterday, he will assess the situation again in around a week.

"If it doesn't come off, it doesn't come off, but we will not be going tapping the player up and we're not going behind people's backs.

"We're just waiting for Aston Villa, but it would be great if it comes off."

Quinn has set up a deal for Barcelona B captain Arnau Riera, after the midfielder impressed during a trial on Wearside.

Riera will sign a three-year contract, and will be joining on a free transfer, with the player being tipped to become a fans' favourite.

"He has been given a free transfer by Barcelona, reluctantly they tell us, in as much that he's a very spirited player and is great around the club," added Quinn.

"He is a typical Sunderland player, he will get up and down the pitch and try all day long. He can tackle, which was one of the first things we noticed about him when he came here, and he'll give it his all.

"He's a good signing for us. He won't cost us money at this stage, but they're very worried about him making it here, so they want a big sell-on clause."