Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has ruled out a permanent deal for Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari.

Benjani is now deemed surplus to requirements at Eastlands, but Bruce has revealed he will not seek to make a permanent move for the powerful forward.

"Benjani was a good loan signing for us at the time because we needed cover in case of injuries," he said.

"In the end, he didn't play many games, but the extra competition brought the best out of the other lads.

"I think Kenwyne Jones, in particular, could see that Benjani was most likely to take his place and rose to the challenge."

Benjani moved to City for £3.5million in 2008 from Portsmouth and is now set to search for a new club during the transfer window.