Sunderland aim to keep Alan Hutton and John Mensah
Hutton and Mensah have both played important roles for Sunderland this term
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has revealed he hopes to keep Alan Hutton and John Mensah at the club next term.
The defenders have been on loan at the Stadium of Light from Tottenham and French club Lyon respectively.
And Quinn said: "I sat down with Alan and was delighted to hear his desire to come permanently to SAFC. Now I have to contact Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
"As for John, he wants to stay, but the original proposal cannot be accepted. Watch this space."
Scotland international Hutton, 25, has impressed in his 10 appearances at right-back for Steve Bruce's side since arriving on loan from Spurs in January, while Mensah, 27, has started 15 times after signing from Lyon.
Bruce has expressed an interest in keeping both players on Wearside, though Spurs are thought to want a sizeable fee for Hutton, who joined the White Hart Lane outfit from Rangers for around £9m in January 2008.
Any deal for Mensah, meanwhile, appears to be further off with Quinn admitting: "He wants to stay, we want him to stay and I'm hoping to visit Lyon shortly to try and strike a deal for another year.
Quinn was talking alongside chief executive Steve Walton on a web chat with fans on the club's official website.
And Walton, who also confirmed the club is working on a deal to bring Paraguayan midfielder Christian Riveros to Wearside, insisted there will be no high-profile departures from the Stadium of Light this summer - including top scorer Darren Bent.
"There is no way we will sell any of our top players, except for crazy money. It's about getting better every year, not going backwards," he said.
"If it's true (that clubs are interested in signing Bent), it's great that they are because it means we are in a very good place with a very good player.
"We see Darren being phenomenal for this club for a long time to come."
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