Sunderland’s coach Steve Bruce revealed on Wednesday that the Black cats are keen to sign Ghanaian duo Sulley Muntari and John Mensah on permanent deals.

Muntari joined Sunderland from Italian and European champions Inter Milan on a season-long loan in January while Mensah, who is contracted to French side Lyon, is having his second loan spell with the English Premier League club.

The Ghanaian midfielders have made a fine impact on the season so far with Sunderland.

“Muntari is desperate to stay. I thought he had his best game for us, easily, at Arsenal. He's getting fitter. He hadn't played for about six months, but he's that type of midfield player that I've been wanting,” Bruce was quoted as saying by Kickoff.com.

"The deal is in place, but the only thing is can we satisfy his wage demands, because they kid has taken a hell of a drop to come here. So we'll do our utmost,” he added

Mensah’s case is more complicated, however, after he was hit with a string of injuries.

“John's been unfortunate because he's had trauma injuries - he's dislocated his ankle and twisted his shoulder. The kid has been unlucky. There's never been a sign of his bad back or whatever he had before. With John we'll see where we are at the end of the season," Bruce concluded.