Bruce's double French fancy; Cats boss Cana wait any longer for Catts.

Byline: STUART RAYNER

STEVE BRUCE is set to channel his efforts towards France after missing out on two of the top names on his summer hit list.

The Sunderland boss made Peter Crouch and Lee Cattermole high priorities after taking over at the Stadium of Light.

But Bruce has had to accept defeat on Crouch, and may soon have to do the same with Cattermole. So he has lined up the French-based pair of Marouane Chamakh and Lorik Cana as possible alternatives.

The good news for Sunderland fans is master talent-spotter Arsene Wenger has tracked both players.

And the even better news is he seems unlikely to follow up his interest with bids.

Cana is a powerful midfielder with a stack of passports and plenty of top-level experience.

The son of former international Agim Cana was born in Yugoslavia 25 years ago, but left as a child to escape the war.

He learned his football in Switzerland, but "followed his heart" and used his Albanian citizenship to become an international at the age of 19. He also has French citizenship after moving there to join Paris SaintGermain in 2000.

Visa problems stopped him going for trials at Arsenal before breaking into PSG's first team and he joined Marseille in 2005, becoming an instant hero by scoring against PSG on his debut.

Significantly, he has captained the Mediterranean club since Habib Beye joined Newcastle United two years ago.

Leadership is something Bruce is looking for in his signings. New boy Paulo Da Silva captained previous club Deportivo Toluca in Mexico.

Six-footer Cana played 12 games as a centre-back for Marseille two seasons ago, but would be a midfield replacement for current skipper Dean Whitehead, set to join Stoke City despite Ipswich Town's interest.

Cattermole was Bruce's first choice, but he admitted recently: "There comes a time when you have to accept you're not going to get a certain player and at that point you move on. That might prove to be the case with Lee."

Bruce was alerted to Cana when a move to Hamburg broke down at the 11th hour and his efforts to persuade Everton to bid came to nothing.

Cana has never been more than an occasional goalscorer, but has played Champions League, Uefa Cup and international football.

He would cost around pounds 6.5m.

Morocco striker Chamakh top-scored with 13 league goals as Bordeaux won last season's French title. When Sunderland were first linked with Chamakh they were laughed out of town by Bordeaux's president Jean-Louis Triaud, who said the 25-year-old would only join a "big club".

But the 50-cap international has since distanced himself from those comments.

Although Wenger this week said he was "keeping an eye" on Chamakh after selling Emmanuel Adebayor, the player says Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham have agreed deals in principle.

Wenger's knowledge of French football is legendary but Bruce's assistant - former Metz midfielder Eric Black - also has formidable contacts there.

The Black Cats have reportedly agreed personal terms, and will be hoping Spurs drop out when they sign Crouch.

Chamakh is priced around pounds 10m.

The Black Cats are also reported to have turned to Hull City central defender Michael Turner as a target as their pursuit of Richard Dunne threatens to end in disappointment.

Bruce is keen to sign the Manchester City skipper and Mark Hughes will let Dunne go if he can sign a couple of centrebacks himself.

But City are finding it slow going trying to strike deals for Chelsea's John Terry and Everton's Joleon Lescott.

CAPTION(S):

TARGETS: Lorik Cana, above. Below right, Marouane Chamakh