The agent of Udinese attacking midfielder Simone Pepe has cooled talk of interest from Sunderland.

Sunderland are preparing a £15 million bid for Pepe.

"If all this were true then I would know about it, but it's the first I've heard," commented agent Giovanni Branchini to Calciomercato.it.

"There are no genuine negotiations in place at this moment in time."