GUSTAVO POYET understands why Fabio Borini rejected the chance to return to Sunderland at the beginning of the month but has not ruled out a fresh attempt to lure the Italian to Wearside in the New Year.

Poyet, speaking for the first time since the transfer window closed on September 1, has revealed he held hope Borini would change his mind just hours before the 11pm deadline but was then left frustrated.

Sunderland had agreed a £14m fee for the Italian in July but he wanted to put making a decision on hold because of an ambition to play in the Champions League this season, ideally at Anfield with the Reds.

But after Liverpool moved in on Mario Balotelli to replace Luis Suarez, forcing Borini back down the pecking order behind Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert, Poyet remained hopeful the player would change his mind late in the day.

The Sunderland boss said: “Fabio was aiming to play in Europe and his aim was Liverpool first, and then any team playing in Europe next. We decided to make a move right or wrong. Now it is very easy to say the move was a little bit too early because he was trying to wait for one of the top teams, all of the time.

“Back then we were in a rush to get the player. Then time went past, he kept waiting, there was a moment when it was less possible. Towards the end he was available again. But at that time, we couldn’t, we couldn’t buy him: simple as that.

“At 7pm on the Monday I thought we had a great chance of signing him. When the story of QPR trying to sign him came out, we didn’t have a good chance. So it went from yes, having everything there, to having nothing at the end. We knew he was not going on loan anywhere.

“I am really pleased that he didn’t go on loan anywhere, because that shows the professionalism of the people at Liverpool because they said he would not. It was not as if they changed their minds in the last minute and they went somewhere else. I was really happy at Liverpool’s attitude. I thought we had a great chance and in the end we couldn’t get him.”

Having spent more than six weeks waiting for a decision from Borini, Sunderland came up short in the transfer market because of a failure to secure the extra striker required to replace Ignacio Scocco.

Poyet - admitting in hindsight he ‘would probably do things differently’ – is exploring the free agent market and Jonas, who looks set for Tottenham after leaving Valencia, was under serious consideration. If he is unable to find a suitable striker, however, Borini could still be on the radar at the turn of the year.

“It depends on where we are,” he said. “It is difficult to say now. I wouldn’t like to say yes or no because I don’t know how we are going to be, how he is going to be, what we will be looking for, how the wide players have been doing if we change the system. I don’t know.”

He added: “I understand his point of view. I can put myself in his point of view and I would like to be honest and say maybe I would have done the same if I was him. He is a Liverpool player who played for Roma before they bought him for a lot of money.

“After last season here he thought “I can play in Europe now”. I think that is fair and understandable. He couldn’t and I think we both feel a little ‘hmmm, maybe that was not the right way to do it’.”

Sunderland, who have a fully fit squad ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Tottenham, did add winger Ricky Alvarez and defender Sebastian Coates on deadline day from Inter Milan and Liverpool respectively. That took Poyet’s recruitment drive to eight players this summer.

“Our transfer window was a bit of a roller coaster,” he said. “We started very early with three free signings. Then we went a month with no one. Then we signed another two or three. Then we went another two or three weeks. That is the way it is.

“When we got those three signings in and we were close to doing Jack Rodwell and Fabio everything was looking in a great way and that it would continue that way. You never know how it will go.

“For me, if we are looking at numbers, maybe we are a little bit short. But it will depend on the players’ fitness in the weeks ahead how we do. Today everyone is fit and I don’t know how many teams can say that.”

Whether Sunderland add to the list of new-boys before January 1 remains to be seen, but Poyet will be considering those available. He said: “We have been looking. We are trying.

“In my time if you were free you would have a hundred offers. But now it is the opposite way around. There is always a ‘but’ in there. Look, two weeks have gone past and we have not brought anyone in so I would be surprised if it happened now.”