Alan Pardew confirmed on Thursday morning that Charlton captain Andy Reid is holding talks with Sunderland after the two clubs agreed a fee for the midfielder.
Reid, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since mid-December, joined the Addicks in a £3m deal from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2006.
If the deal goes through, the Republic of Ireland international would become Sunderland's fifth signing in the January transfer window, which slams shut at midnight on Thursday.
And Pardew also revealed that Black Cats defender Greg Halford could arrive at The Valley on loan.
"A fee has been agreed and Andy Reid is talking to Sunderland,” Pardew told the media.
"It was a difficult decision, but we have to look at ourselves and say 'are we going to let this affect us or will this make us stronger?' Hopefully, the latter will happen.
"I feel we've coped well without him since he has been injured - he is still carrying an injury - but it was a tough call for all parties, and also Andy himself.
"The situation that Sunderland are in, he's going to find that very difficult to refuse. He's on Championship money and he'll be going to Premier League money.”
Former Nottingham Forest man Reid, 25, has made 23 appearances for Charlton this season, scoring six goals, but has missed the last nine games.
He resumed training at the end of last week following a tear to the medial ligament in his knee against West Bromwich Albion on December 15th, and was due to have a medical on Wearside on Thursday morning.
Coincidentally, Reid suffered a hamstring injury almost exactly a year earlier - on December 16th, 2006 - that meant he played just one game in the second half of the 2006/07 campaign.
Pardew added: "I made Andy our captain and his stats for this year have been outstanding, which is why Sunderland have come in for him. He's probably had his most successful run in any team since he was at Forest.
"Roy Keane had a couple of conversations with me, and I tried to make it clear Andy wasn't for sale, but it snowballed from there.
"There's a strong connection between the two of them. Roy is very much aware of Andy's talent and he'll be hoping he can secure their safety in the Premier League.
"I still think there are benefits to this deal for us as well as negatives, and the security of the club is key.”
He added: "It's a tight situation when you get relegated. The board laid out heavy investment when we went down and we're paying the price. You never want to lose good players but that doesn't mean it's the end of our campaign.
"That's football sometimes. I didn't really want it to happen, but these things happen.
"Everyone at the club - from the players and staff to the fans - needs to pull together now, and use it to make us stronger as a club.”
While Reid appears set to leave SE7, one player who could be coming in the opposite direction is Halford.
The ex-Reading man, who worked under Addicks assistant manager Phil Parkinson during his time at Colchester United, is poised to sign on loan until the end of the season.
Pardew said: "Part of doing business is to make sure you try to do something that's useful for your club.
"I lost Jermain Defoe in a similar situation when I was at West Ham United, and brought in Bobby Zamora.
"Hopefully we can have similar success with Greg. He's coming here on loan and I think he's got a lot to prove.
"It didn't work out for him at Reading, it didn't work out for him at Sunderland, so I think he needs to be a success here, but I think he will be a massive asset for us.
"Phil feels he will be able to get the best out of him. He has assets that will be useful for us. He can play across the back four, and across the midfield to some degree.”
The club is looking to clinch a deal for Halford, known for a long throw-in that even surpasses the one demonstrated by Stoke City's Rory Delap at The Valley on Tuesday night, before the end of the transfer deadline, which would mean that he would be available for Saturday's clash at Scunthorpe United.
And he may not be the only new face arriving at The Valley in the coming weeks, with Pardew revealing he was looking to bring in another player on loan.
"I haven't finished doing business yet,” Pardew said. "Although the window shuts in terms of transfers, we can still loan outside of that. I like to think I will be able to secure another loan player after the window shuts.”
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I reckon we will get song on loan nailed on
'You never want to lose good players but that doesn't mean it's the end of our campaign.' shouldnt even use words like that....
We are 4 points behind the leaders and have played well in the past 5/6 games, we'll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
"He's on Championship money and he'll be going to Premier League money" = mercenary
"Roy Keane had a couple of conversations with me, and I tried to make it clear Andy wasn't for sale, but it snowballed from there"..."There's a strong connection between the two of them" = tapped up
in the board and pards i trust.
Next time we drop points at home, morons will be saying: "Well done Pards you c*nt, why did you sell Reid?"
jesus
what how dare you imply corruption in the football world
Im just saying that language that involves the words "end of our campaign" from the bloke charged with getting us back up makes me feel uncofortable.... thats it...
Im not one of these moaning passismists pal.....
He sounds realistic to me. He is trying to send a message to fans which plays into their own psychies, along the lines of, "these things happen, money's tight, Reid has been injured, it was a difficult decison, lets accept it and move on together".
I have still said we will go up and stick to that buddy i am more happy now that for the first time they have come out and explained the situation i am no longer pissed off cant you tell
; - )
"Everyone at the club - from the players and staff to the fans - needs to pull together now, and use it to make us stronger as a club.”
So he can't hide his disappointment but is still professional enough to say that he'll use this blow to build the unity of the side.