Sunderland are not targeting Jerry Yates in January, according to journalist Phil Smith.

The Lowdown: Sunderland wanting a striker

Prior to Sunderland losing former loanee Ellis Simms, who was recently recalled by his parent club, it appeared that they needed a new striker due to Ross Stewart's injury woes this season. Now Simms has left, that need will have likely increased.

The Black Cats are currently sitting just one point off the play-offs and will be hoping to kick on in the second half of the season, but some pressure perhaps has to be taken off Stewart's shoulders.

As things stand, Sunderland have just one striker on their books, but someone who seemingly won't be joining despite recent links is Blackpool's Yates, who has got nine goals this season.

The Latest: Yates not on the radar

Smith has revealed on The Roar podcast that despite recent transfer links, he's not heard anything about Sunderland exploring the signing of Yates.

He said: "In January, things can change incredibly quickly, so you would never be definitive about any player. My understanding is that Yates certainly isn't one who's been on the radar up until this point.

"I think if you look at Yates, he's a very good Championship striker, no doubt about that - he's also 26 and I think he would cost a fairly large amount of money to sign him from Blackpool.

"So he doesn't really fit what Sunderland have been trying to do over the last few windows and want to do moving forward."

The Verdict: Sunderland going in a different direction

Smith is right to acknowledge Yates is a top-level Championship striker, as he currently sits as the league's fifth-highest goalscorer this campaign, but with Stewart already the definitive first choice at the Stadium of Light, it's unlikely Yates would settle for playing second fiddle.

This, along with the fact Sunderland and Tony Mowbray are seemingly looking to build a young and energetic side with players such as Amad Diallo, Aji Alese and Dan Neil featuring prominently, so a young striker would look to be a more likely move.

It would make a lot of sense for Sunderland to dip back into the loan market this month to replace Simms, not least as he was only a Black Cats player on a temporary basis. This would save money for the summer and also allow Mowbray to continue his great work developing young stars.