Former Norwich City striker could be heading to Sunderland

Former Norwich City striker Kyle Lafferty could be set for a return to the English game.

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson has confirmed his interest in signing the 32-year-old Northern Ireland international who is out of contract following his spell in Norway with Sarpsborg 08.

Lafferty is on a list of frontmen the Black Cats are considering to bolster their attacking options as they target promotion from League One.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend's home clash with leaders Wycombe, Parkinson said: "Kyle is one of a number of players we have been speaking about here as a staff. He's a free agent and he's on our list."

Lafferty was signed by Neil Adams in June 2014 but in three years made just 14 starts for City in all competitions, scoring four goals - two in the league and two in the League Cup. Lafferty was loaned out to Rizespor in Turkey and Birmingham City before he was released when his contract expired in the summer of 2017.

Sunderland have also been linked with Burton's Liam Boyce, although the manager was giving little away on that front.

He said: "Obviously Liam is under contract at Burton, but he's a good player and has scored goals at this level. He is a good player, but it's difficult for me to speak about him as he is under contract."