Sunderland manager Steve Bruce says the deal to bring John Mensah to the English Premiership is in the final stages with paperwork the only final hurdle to clear. Bruce had initially expected Mensah to be a Sunderland player on a one year loan deal by close of the week. That won’t happen with aspects of the deal still being worked out but Bruce says it’s progressing well. "It is still ongoing," Bruce said of the Mensah deal. "He is a Ghanaian international, it's all Home Office, papers and passports all this sort of stuff. Bruce does not expect all the paper work to stall the deal though. "In principle the two clubs have agreed, the boy wants to come to us and to England so in that respect we are over that hurdle, but we have to make sure we dot the i's and cross the t's and we expect him obviously before the window closes that he can be part of us." Mensah has been a regular first team player at international level for Ghana since the 2002 Nations Cup and should have no problem meeting the strict requirements in England for a work permit. He has already passed a medical with the view to a one year loan deal that could become permanent if he impresses at the Stadium of Light. Mensah spent just one season at Olympique Lyon but his time at the Stade Gerland was hampered by injuries before the club eventually decided he was surplus to requirement. Source: Kickoff.com