English side Sunderland have made a sudden U-turn on the future of John Mensah insisting that they are keen to offer him a new deal.
Coach Steve Bruce was last week unsure whether he will offer the influential player a new deal because of his injuries that have affected his season.
But Bruce now says he is “desperate†to broker a deal to keep John Mensah at Sunderland – but admits the player’s “horrific†injury record means a loan move is the only option open to them.
With Mensah nearing the end of his season- long loan on Wearside, Bruce has revealed he will open talks with agent Fabien Piveteau next week with a view to bringing him back to Sunderland.
Although all parties want Mensah to return next season, negotiations are complicated by his persistent fitness problems, which are so chronic the club’s top brass will not sanction the cash to complete a permanent switch from Lyon.
Bruce knows he would be taking a risk by re-signing a player with fitness issues but believes his quality and influence means it is a gamble worth taking.
It is a measure of the esteem Bruce holds for him that his return from a hamstring injury this week will spark an immediate recall for today’s home game with Burnley.
“John Mensah’s agent is flying over next week and we are desperate to do some sort of deal,†Bruce said.
“However it will be very difficult for me to buy him because of his ongoing problems.
“We will weigh it up – I’ll speak to Niall (Quinn, chairman) and Steve (Walton, chief executive).
“If we can get him on the same sort of deal – a loan for a year – I’ll do that just to have him in the building because we all know what a good player he is.
“The problems he’s got are horrific.â€
With Ellis Short again set to provide cash to spend, Bruce is ready for another long summer of speculation – but Sunderland fans can cross two names off their list.
Bruce rejected speculative links with Portsmouth defender Marc Wilson and Newcastle stopper Steven Taylor, and suggested a move for Tottenham’s much-coveted Jamie O’Hara was unlikely.
There will be transfer activity at the Stadium of Light but Bruce is looking to add quality rather than quantity to his squad, something that has proved difficult for successive Sunderland managers.