SUNDERLAND misfit Rade Prica is on the verge of joining Norwegian side Rosenborg, and goalkeeper Darren Ward has also expressed a desire to leave Wearside, albeit on a temporary basis.

Prica, who has not made a single senior Black Cats appearance all season, was in talks with Rosenborg officials over the weekend.

While the British transfer window has closed, Norwegian clubs are able to conduct transfer business until the end of March because their season runs through the summer.

Prica cost Sunderland £2m when he moved from Danish side Aalborg in January 2008, a transfer that is widely regarded as Roy Keane’s worst during his time in charge of the Black Cats.

The Sweden international scored on his debut against Birmingham, but he has hardly been seen since and Sunderland are willing to incur a significant loss in order to remove his wages from their books. Rosenborg are understood to have offered around £350,000, and Prica is expected to become reunited with Erik Hamren, his former boss at Aalborg.

Meanwhile, Ward is also hoping to leave the Stadium of Light this month after finally recovering from a back problem that has sidelined him for most of the season.

The 34-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, exacerbated a long-standing back injury during a freak fall at his home, and having battled his way back to fitness in recent weeks, is desperate to put himself in the shop window in the final three-and-ahalf months of the season.

“A loan deal might be an option for me,” said Ward, who is effectively Sunderland’s third-choice goalkeeper behind Craig Gordon and Marton Fulop. “There’s always that opportunity.

“There are always other clubs who suffer injuries or suspensions, and they might come knocking. We are getting to an important stage of the season, whether for promotion, relegation or the playoffs, and it would certainly help from my point of view if there was a chance to go out on loan.”