Sunderland boss Gus Poyet admits Nacho Scocco is likely to move on.
The striker is the subject of intense negotiations with Newell's Old Boys.
Poyet told the Sunderland Echo: "My first idea - and I knew it would be difficult - was to use Nacho last season to help us get out of the problems we were in.
"It was always going to be difficult for a player who had played in Argentina and Brazil over the last year to come to the English Premier League.
"We were in a fight and he's not that type of player - he needed us to be controlling games in order for him to do his bit.
"The type of player he is, we were not playing to his strengths - he needs to be in a team that is on top in games, so my idea then was to take the closed season to improve the team and to improve Nacho in terms of him being used to the environment over here and the football itself.
"But there are options now and everything is being analysed, we will see what happens over the next few days."
