Alan Pardew has revealed he failed to persuade striker Jermain Defoe to pick Crystal Palace ahead of a move to Sunderland.
Defoe is on the verge of sealing his transfer to Wearside from Toronto FC, with Pardew conceding Palace were forced out of the race for the former England striker.
Palace have secured Arsenal forward Yaya Sanogo on loan with new Eagles boss Pardew aiming to sign another striker during the January transfer window.
The former Newcastle manager grudgingly admitted Defoe's goalscoring prowess could ease Sunderland out of the Barclays Premier League relegation battle.
"I think it's a good move for Sunderland to have secured Jermain, I think he's a goalscorer and Gus (Poyet) will be the first to tell you they need more goals," said Pardew.
"So it's a good signing for them. We tried to get Defoe, but probably a bit late in the loop on that one. 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, who managed Defoe at West Ham before the prolific striker moved to Tottenham, admits the 32-year-old could boost Sunderland's firepower with the Black Cats one of Palace's main rivals in the battle to avoid the drop.
The Eagles' new manager, however, warned that Defoe must first prove he is capable of playing week-in-week-out at Sunderland.
"He's still got to step in, I don't know the last time Jermain had a run of three or four Premier League games," said Pardew.
"He'll be asked to start every week at Sunderland, so I think he's going to have to grasp it quickly.
"But he's a goalscorer, he opens up the goal with both feet and gets goals that (make) you question your back four, he makes you think 'how did he get that?'
"But that's his ability, you don't really know which side he's going to go, and he makes it difficult to stop him scoring goals.
"I think he'll do well for them, I think it's a good signing.
"But it's like anything, he'll need a goal early, all strikers need that for his confidence."
