Sunderland have already begun talks for their first swoop of the summer...

What's the word?

That is according to Journalist Pete O'Rourke, who claims the Black cats have made an enquiry for Spanish midfielder and former Mackems youth product, Alex Gorrin.

Taking to Twitter, O'Rourke said: "Sunderland have made an enquiry for Oxford United midfielder Alex Gorrin. Gorrin is out of contract next month and could leave on a free transfer, although Oxford are trying to tie him down to a new contract."

It was claimed earlier this week that the 28-year-old is also wanted by Wigan Athletic, Burton Albion, Lincoln City and Portsmouth.

Neil will love him

Between the years of 2011-2014, Gorrin enjoyed a rise through the ranks at the Academy of Light and even captained the youth side for some time, before eventually being released by the Black Cats.

He has since tried his luck with a host of unique teams across a variety of leagues, having played for four clubs in the space of two years, before finding his feet at Oxford United.

As a midfielder, it's clear that he offers more defensively, with his total of five goal returns in 101 appearances for The U's clear evidence of his lack of direct offensive participations.

With an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and 1.0 clearance per game, he is evidently more comfortable out of possession. Those are numbers that beat some impressive midfielders too.

Let's use Wolves' Joao Moutinho as an example who is beaten in two out of three of the aforementioned metrics, but Gorrin just about loses out to the Portuguese's 2.1 tackles per game.

So, in this regard, he is matching that of a Premier League starter, with the rather large caveat that he's operating within a lower standard of football - but still, this is a respectable set of metrics that Neil will surely love.

His solidity has seen him become highly rated in Oxford, with George Elek stating: "Amazing how often when Oxford concede when Alex Gorrin isn’t playing, you think, 'That probably wouldn’t be a goal if Alex Gorrin was playing.'"

Similar sentiments were offered by the Oxford Mail's James Roberts who described his play-style: "Ball winning, interceptions, reads the game well in defensive areas and is very combative.
"He likes to get stuck in and win the ball on as many occasions as possible but also picks up a few yellow cards because of that, too."

Having matched and slightly bettered the stats of 31-year-old Corry Evans, £225k-rated Gorrin could prove to be a slightly younger replacement at 28-years-old.

In other news: Major boost: Early SAFC Wembley team news emerges that'll leave supporters buzzing