After completing an astute signing of Lorik Cana from Marseille, Steve Bruce has turned his attention to France yet again in a bid to sign Lyon stopper John Mensah. Sunderland are looking to sign the Ghana defender on a season long loan deal with an option for a permanent move. Bruce is looking to complete the deal in the next 48 hours so that Mensah can slot into the team for the weekend’s game against Blackburn Rovers.
After moving to Lyon from Rennes in 2008 for a staggering €8.4 million, Mensah has not been getting enough playing time at Lyon having made only 12 appearances last season. Mensah will bring a lot of experience to Sunderland’s defence. Mensah has 58 caps for Ghana and was also voted as the French League’s Player of the Year back in 2006.
Steve Bruce sounded very upbeat about his defensive target –
“The John Mensah thing is getting close. We are edging towards that one. It looks as if we might be able to have that one in the bag. It’s fair to say that we are close to agreeing a deal. I’ll hopefully know more in the next 24-48 hours, but we hope so”.
Bruce is still looking for new defenders after Paraguay international Paulo da Silva’s move from Mexican side Toluca hit administrative difficulties.
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