Alan Pardew failed in a late bid to sign Jermain Defoe from Toronto FC as he looks to boost his firepower at Crystal Palace.
Defoe is on the brink of rubber-stamping a move to Sunderland, with Jozy Altidore going in the opposite direction to the Canadian club.
Pardew conceded Palace were forced out of the race for the England international and although they have secured Arsenal forward Yaya Sanogo on loan, he is aiming to sign another striker during the January transfer window.
He grudgingly acknowledged Defoe's goal-scoring prowess could have eased Sunderland out of the Premier League relegation battle.
"I think it's a good move for Sunderland to have secured Jermain, I think he's a goal scorer and [Sunderland manager] 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."
The 32-year-old failed to warm to life in Toronto after leaving Spurs for MLS a year ago. And Pardew was forced to admit the 55-cap forward could boost Sunderland's firepower, with Poyet's team one of Palace's main rivals in the battle to avoid the drop.
"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 goal-scorer, 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."