Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Paraguay defender Paulo Da Silva.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has targeted the Deportivo Toluca defender as his first signing at the Stadium of Light.

The 29-year-old is available on a free transfer after seeing out his contract at Toluca and Bruce is ready to lure him to Wearside.

Toulca have confirmed they were not able to compete with Sunderland's offer once they made their interest known in the centre-back.

"The English team's offer was not within our reach," read a Toluca club statement.

Da Silva is believed to be travelling to England next week to tie up the move and he is excited at the prospect of playing in England.

"First of all I want to thank the Deportivo Toluca for the effort they made and for giving me the opportunity to fulfill a dream, which is playing in Europe, it is certainly an important step in my football career," Da Silva told the Toulca website.