Soccer:Sunderland have asked Manchester City if they can sign goalkeeper Joe Hart on loan.
The 23-year-old has returned to Eastlands after spending last season at Birmingham and was expected to challenge Shay Given for the number one jersey.
However, Sunderland, who are looking to find a replacement for the injured Craig Gordon, hope City will let the England international move north to the Stadium of Light
Black Cats boss Steve Bruce said: "We've asked the question of City and we now just have to wait and see what they say.
"But the timetable is not up to us on when we get an answer, it's up to them.
"With these new 25-man squad rules, clubs don't have to name their confirmed squads until the end of August, so if they wanted to, City could delay any decisions on their squad until then."
With Martin Fulop set to join Ipswich, Bruce wants a goalkeeper with top-flight experience rather than having to risk rookies Simon Mignolet and Trevor Carson.
He added: "Premier League experience is important, but there are not too many keepers who would fit the bill for us as short-term replacements - Hart is one, (David) James was another.
"But they are few and far between and I'm not planning to turn my eyes down towards the Championship.
"There's one or two players there that we have looked at in the past, but they lack Premier League experience too and I'd rather go with Simon and Trevor until Craig returns rather than bringing in someone who's equally untried."