Aiden McGeady has attracted interest from overseas ahead of a January exit, according to Phil Parkinson.
The former Republic of Ireland international has been left out in the cold after being told he does not feature in Parkinson's plans and can leave Wearside when the transfer window opens next month.
And Parkinson says there has been contact between clubs abroad and senior figures at Sunderland , although so far no deal has been agreed for the 33-year-old's departure.
"There has not been any interest to me directly about Aiden , but I think there are one or two clubs from abroad who have contacted the hierarchy at the club," said Parkinson.
"There's nothing concrete at the moment, but in these kind of situations normally the player's agent will be working on several situations and that's why it was important to give Aiden time to try and sort things out."
McGeady is still training at the Academy of Light but away from the first team squad and it is clear that he has no future at the club, despite having signed a contract extension until 2021 only in July.
The former Celtic and Everton man is the highest earner at the club and if Sunderland can move him on next month, it will free up funds to strengthen the squad as the club looks spark its spluttering season into life.
Another player whose future could lie away from Wearside is midfielder Dylan McGeouch , who has been a peripheral figure this season and who has yet to start a league game since Parkinson took over in mid-October - albeit a calf injury has ruled him out in recent weeks.
But McGeouch currently finds himself behind George Dobson , Max Power , Grant Leadbitter , and Luke O'Nien , in the central midfield pecking order and he may need to leave in order to find regular football.
Parkinson added: "Dylan still has a problem with his calf.
"The last chat I had with Dylan, before he got injured, was to say that we will get through these games in early January and then sit down again [to discuss his future].
"But unfortunately it looks like he is going to miss out on these next few games."
