The Black Cats boss signalled his intention of getting straight on with revamping the players on the club's books with the release of five out-of-contract players.

Andy Cole, Ian Harte, Stan Varga, Stephen Wright and Peter Hartley were all released this week.

> > Click here to join our Football Forum and have your say on this story and read the other posts

But Keane plans to build his team around his key striker and his young goalkeeper.

Jones's progress has been monitored by Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, while Liverpool are believed to be considering a firm offer.

Keane, however, does not want to sell the striker he bought for £6m from Southampton last summer.

And he is similarly determined to resist any potential 'silly offers' for goalkeeper Gordon.

"Kenwyne is a player we have no intention of letting go," said Keane. "He's not for sale.

"When you look at Kenwyne and our goalkeeper, there are certain players who you think are definitely not going anywhere.

"There are certain players who are untouchable.

"Sometimes clubs might have a Wayne Rooney and think they'll get £20m or £30m to invest and that it's a good deal for everybody, but it certainly wouldn't be a good deal for us to let one or two players go, like Kenwyne or our goalkeeper.

"They are no-gos, because it would set us back a hell of a lot of time, even if we got crazy money for them.

"It's all ifs and ands. If an offer comes in you have to sit down with the player. Kenwyne and Craig are on long-term contracts.

"Craig's a brilliant goalkeeper. He's a young man. This year he's done OK for us, but I've no doubt that in the next few years he will become one of the best in world, if not the best.

"What he's lacking at the moment is experience, particularly in the Premier League.

"He played at Hearts for Scotland, but there's no bigger test for a goalkeeper, particularly in our team this season.

"He has been tested, he really has. We could have done with two keepers!

"The biggest plusses for our first year in the division have been him and Kenwyne.

"Our players have so much to learn, but the good thing with them is that I look at them and they want to learn, and I'm not sure that some of the others want that."

> > Take part in our web vote.