Black Cats boss Roy Keane refuses to be held to ransom for a player he bid £5million for in January but could not prise away from Reading.

The Royals are holding out for at least £5million again – possibly wanting as much as £6m – and Sunderland are unwilling to overspend on the winger, despite Keane's admiration for the Republic of Ireland international.

The Wearsiders will ease their pursuit of a player who is keen to return quickly to the Premier League and see how the situation develops in the coming weeks.

With a deal for Romania international centre-back Dorin Goian also looking dead because of cash, Sunderland are sending a clear message to selling clubs that they are not willing to write blank cheques.

Talk of a bumper £50m budget for Keane this summer may have whetted the appetite of sellers when Keane has come calling, but the current financial climate affects football, too, and Sunderland will spend carefully.

Steaua Bucharest are holding out for an extra £200,000 for Goian – making the fee around £4m – but Sunderland have decided that's too much and – as reported in yesterday's Echo – the defender could be heading to Dynamo Kiev instead.

While Keane has a lot of active inquiries in for players, the chances seem remote of him adding to his squad before it departs for a pre-season tournament in Portugal on Friday.

The former Manchester United captain has shown already during his Wearside reign that he is willing to be patient to get the men he wants.

The season starts in just over four weeks and there are more than six weeks until the transfer window closes.

Keane is running behind the progress he made last summer. By July 16 last year, he had made four new signings – Greg Halford, Russell Anderson, Michael Chopra and Kieran Richardson – with Dickson Etuhu recruited on July 17.