BURNLEY manager Steve Cotterill is hoping to make Sunderland central defender Steve Caldwell his fifth January signing.

The Clarets boss is awaiting a response from the Scotland international after agreeing a fee with the Black Cats.

Club captain Caldwell, who won promotion to the Premiership with Sunderland after signing from neighbours Newcastle in June 2004, is believed to be a target for a number of Championship sides, although Burnley are thought to be the only club who have made an official approach.

"We've agreed a fee and we're now waiting to hear back from the player and his agent," said Cotterill.

"I met Steve on Wednesday at the ground, and we're just waiting for a decision.

"I haven't given him a deadline to get back to me, because the deadline is the deadline (at the end of the transfer window).

"But I don't want to do that anyway. If he wants to come, he wants to come and it will be right if he does come - not being forced.

"I think he would be a good signing, it would be good to add him to the squad.

"We had a good, positive meeting on Wednesday, but I think he's got a couple of things that he wants to go away and discuss.

"So we'll just wait and see."

With Caldwell out of contract in the summer and finding himself behind Jonny Evans, Stanislav Varga and Kenny Cunningham in the pecking order at the Stadium of Light he is obviously keen to put himself in a position to get regular first team football.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane had initially said he did not want to lose the 26-year-old's services, but seems to have had a change of heart about Caldwell's future with the Black Cats.

"I gave permission for Steve Caldwell to speak to Burnley and I know Steve spoke to them," Keane said.

"Steve's contract is expiring in the summer, so we had to look at the situtation. It's a long story and I don't really want to go into it, but I spoke to Steve and his agent and there were a few things I wasn't happy about.

"Steve Cotterill had been on to me and he came back on Monday and made an offer. And I thought that in the interests of the club, we would accept it.

"I spoke to Steve (Caldwell) but unfortunately, it was over the phone because I was away from the area. But he's gone down to Burnley to talk, so we'll see how it goes on."

Caldwell started 41 of Sunderland's 46 league games when they won the Championship title in 2005, and remained a regular as the Black Cats were relegated in their first season back in the Premiership last term.

He has made only 11 appearances so far this season, and has been nursing a thigh injury recently, although it is not thought to be serious enough to scupper any move.

And should Caldwell agree a deal with the Clarets, it will end the waiting game Cotterill has played in his bid to bolster his defence.

"It's funny, but we've ended up bringing a couple of midfielders, a keeper and a striker, and it was the defender I started working on from January 1st really," said the Burnley boss, who has been forced into freqeunt alterations to his back line this season.

"We haven't been consistent enough in the back four this season, to be honest," he added.

"There's been a lot of chopping and changing.

"The last place I want to chop and change is the back four.

"Normally what happens throughout a season is you chop and change the front four because your flair players end up being your wide players and strikers and they're the ones that form normally dips with.

"But the form, injuries and availability of our defenders has been a disruption, and that's a problem. Therefore keeping clean sheets is always difficult.

"So we've made a decision and now we're waiting on Steve and/ or his agent to come back to us."

Meanwhile, Cotterill said the possibility of a sixth January signing was dependent on the player's club.

"That's dictated to by them doing something," he said. "I'm waiting on somebody else really with that one."