Sunderland boss Steve Bruce hopes to buy Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha - but only for the right price.
Bruce still wants to make the deal permanent and hopes City's lavish spending to assemble a stable of stars will convince Onuoha that he needs to move on.
Bruce said: "Onuoha is a great player. I like him a lot, he's enjoying playing here and I will certainly ask the question of Man City."
But the danger for Bruce is that City will try to tempt Sunderland by using Onuoha as a makeweight in a player-plus-cash deal for newly-capped England starlet Jordan Henderson, says the Sunday Sun.
