JOHN MENSAH is due to return to Wearside this morning after Sunderland agreed a new season-long loan deal with his French employers Lyon.

Mensah will spend the whole of this season at the Stadium of Light after Lyon officials reluctantly conceded they were unable to move him on permanently. He is expected to be part of the Black Cats squad that travels to Germany for Sunday’s pre-season friendly against Hoffenheim.

The 27-year-old made 17 appearances during a similar loan spell last season, and is likely to be a key member of Bruce’s squad, provided he is able to overcome the injury concerns that dogged him in his first spell at the club.

He will almost certainly have been pencilled in for Sunderland’s opening Premier League fixture against Birmingham, given the absence of Michael Turner following his dismissal at Wolves in May.

“We’re doing our utmost to bring John back,” said Bruce.

“Anybody who watched him play in the World Cup (for Ghana) or watched him play for Sunderland will realise he’s an absolutely fantastic defender.

“We realise the problems he’s got, but I’m prepared to take that gamble because, when he does play, if you look at our record, we don’t tend to lose many games.

“He’ll be a huge part of the squad if we can make things happen. We’re making inroads and we hope we’ll have something in place by the end of the week.”

Mensah will be Sunderland’s sixth summer signing once his arrival is confirmed, but the Ghanaian is unlikely to be the last player joining before the transfer window closes on August 31.

Bruce remains keen to bolster his attacking midfield options and has spoken to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson about the possible availability of Danny Welbeck.

Welbeck is expected to leave Old Trafford on loan this month, but Sunderland face stiff competition for his capture with Newcastle, Blackburn and Blackpool all having expressed an interest in his services.

Bruce remains hopeful of striking a deal, but with Ferguson understood to be insisting that the 19-year-old moves to a club that can all but guarantee him a place in the starting line-up, Sunderland could find it difficult to satisfy the Scot’s demands.

“We’ve expressed an interest and there might be a possibility, but that’s all it is at the moment,” said Bruce.

“Speculation is rife about the boy, but first and foremost he’s a Manchester United player.

“I’ve spoken to Sir Alex on many occasions and there’s a possibility. Will it happen? For me, it’s still up in the air a bit.”

As well as pursuing potential recruits, Bruce is also attempting to trim the size of his squad by moving on a number of fringe players.

Marton Fulop should be the next player to pass through the Stadium of Light exit doors after undergoing a medical at Championship side Ipswich yesterday.

Fulop will sign a permanent deal with the Suffolk side and will move for an undisclosed fee of about £1m.

“It appears to be pretty much past the post now, and if and when it does happen we wish Marton all the best,” said Bruce. “To be fair, I admire him for the fact that he was so keen to be playing first-team football.”

Fulop’s exit will leave Bruce seriously short of goalkeeping options, with both Craig Gordon and Trevor Carson nursing injuries that will keep them out of the opening stages of the season.

With David James having joined Bristol City despite his agent having held a series of talks with the Black Cats, untried 22-year-old Simon Mignolet is the only fit senior goalkeeper on Sunderland’s books.

But having watched the Belgian perform impressively during last weekend’s pre-season win at Leicester, Bruce admits he is warming to the idea of handing the youngster a surprise Premier League debut in ten days time.

“I’ve been really impressed with Simon Mignolet, however he is young,” he said. “I just need to decide over the next couple of weeks what we do.

“We know Craig might be back after six games so I’m left with a situation where I have a wonderful goalkeeper – as good as any in the Premier League – and a young one that I brought in who has done nothing wrong since he’s been here.

“At this moment, I’m tempted to just put him in the deep end and see how it goes.”