Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has revealed that he tried to sign Steven Fletcher over the summer.
The striker instead opted to join Sunderland from Wolverhampton Wanderers and has gone on to score five goals in seven games for the Black Cats.
"He's one of the players we looked at in the summer and I'm not surprised he's been a success," Pulis told Sky Sports News.
"He's good in the box, takes good positions, he's always on the move and his goalscoring record is first class."
Sunderland paid Wolves a club record £14m for the Scotland international's services.