Sunderland midfielder Liam Miller has been told he can leave the club. The 27-year-old Republic of Ireland international has been told he is free to find another club 18 months after his arrival on Wearside.

Miller is currently fighting his way back from a calf injury and Sunderland manager Roy Keane had spoken last week of a possible comeback for the reserves this evening.

Transfer regulations mean the former Celtic, Manchester United and Leeds player could only join a Football League club on an emergency loan deal before the end of the season.

The announcement came as Keane continued his preparations for Saturday's potentially crucial Premier League trip to Derby with one eye already on his summer rebuilding plans.

Miller becomes the seventh player to be placed on the transfer list in recent weeks along with Ross Wallace, David Connolly, Ian Harte, Stephen Wright, Graham Kavanagh, Greg Halford and Stanislav Varga.

Kavanagh, Halford and Varga are currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Burnley respectively with Andy Cole, whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season, also at Turf Moor.

Interestingly, Keane signed six of the seven with five of them — Miller, Wallace, Connolly, Kavanagh and Varga — arriving in a flurry of activity on the final day of the summer transfer window in 2006, just days after the new manager's appointment.

Only Dwight Yorke, whose contract is up in the summer, remains part of Keane's plans.

Miller has made 14 starts and seven further appearances as a substitute this season and scored one goal, a late equaliser at Middlesbrough in September last year.