Coyle confirms Sunderland interest in Davies

Bolton boss Owen Coyle has confirmed that Sunderland have registered an interested in signing Kevin Davies.

Following speculation that the Black Cats were set to make a bid for the Bolton captain, Coyle has admitted that Martin O’Neill rang him to ask about Davies’ availability.

But the Bolton boss was adamant that he did not want to lose Davies and was not interested in discussing his possible sale.

He said: “It’s only natural that stories will pop up here and there. There was a story the other day about Sunderland and I spoke to Martin O’Neill off the back of that.

“He said there was an interest there and what is the situation. I was very upfront and honest with him, I told him that Kevin is a big part of my plans.

“I don’t want Kevin going anywhere. Kevin knows that, we’ve had that chat and I’m pretty sure that something can be sorted on that front but I’m totally understanding of the situation.”