Manchester City have confirmed that goalkeeper Marton
Fulop has joined them on emergency loan to replace injured
stopper Shay
Given until the end of the season.
Marton Fulop: Last played in a 7-2 defeat at
Chelsea
The Premier League have approved City's application to
sign a player on loan as their three first-team goalkeepers -
Given, Stuart
Taylor and David Gonzalez - are all injured.
The club's only fit goalkeeper is Faroe Islands stopper Gunnar
Nielsen, who made his debut against Arsenal on Saturday. Any
other keeper would be an academy player and not, as has been
suggested, a full professional. There is no recall clause in
Joe
Hart's loan deal at Birmingham City, so Roberto
Mancini was left no choice but to ask for special dispensation
to bring in another stopper.
A club spokesman said: "The club, with the backing of the
Premier League, have been in contact throughout the day with both
Birmingham City and Sunderland with regards to bringing either Joe
Hart or Marton Fulop to the team on an emergency basis.
And a Premier League statement confirmed the legitimacy of the
transfer: "The Premier League can confirm that the board has given
Manchester City FC permission to sign Marton Fulop on a temporary
transfer in line with our rules regarding injuries to
goalkeepers.''
Fulop had earlier told the Sunderland Chronicle that he
would be delighted to join City and help their bid for Champions
League football.
"I can't confirm officially any approach because personally I
haven't been contacted by anyone," Fulop said. "But if the news is
true then I'd go there happily and I would be hungry to play for
Manchester City.
It will not be the first time that a Premier League side has
been allowed to recruit a goalkeeper outside of the transfer
window, as Aston Villa signed Gabor Kiraly in December 2006. And it
happens regularly in the Football League at the end of the season
once the loan window has closed.
City had been looking into possible loan options and Fulop, the
third-choice goalkeeper at Sunderland following an alleged fall-out
with manager Steve
Bruce, was out of favour at the Stadium of Light.
The 24-year-old has started 12 Premier League games this season,
keeping two clean sheets. He has not been in Sunderland's matchday
squad since February 6. His last appearance was in the 7-2 thumping
at Chelsea in mid-January.