Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has admitted that he wanted to sign Toronto FC striker Jermain Defoe before the player agreed to move to Sunderland.

The Eagles boss was previously coy about his interest in the former England international, but has now revealed that his approach for the forward came too late.

"We tried to get Defoe, but probably a bit late in the loop on that one," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying.

"I wouldn't say we were that close, no. It never really got to the stage where I got to speak to Jermain, so I would say we were not that close."

Pardew has already brought in striker Yaya Sanogo from Arsenal during the January window, but is aiming to recruit another forward before it closes.