The Scandinavian giants are preparing a bid for a player the Black Cats are keen to offload.

The closure of the transfer window in Denmark has ended – for now – interest from several other interested parties.

But the Norwegian transfer window does not close until March 31 and they remain able to sign plaers from other countries.

That puts Rosenborg in pole position as the three clubs that have shown most interest in the player are themselves and Danish clubs Aab Aalborg and FC Copenhagen.

Rosenborg are looking at a bargain bid for a player who has flopped badly in England. Prica arrived in England last January as Denmark's top scorer but the £2m signing has played only six games – all as a substitute. His last game was at Chelsea in March last year.

Rosenborg's manager is Erik Hamren – Prica's former boss at Aalborg – who is a long-term admirer of a player who has only just started the second year of a three-year contract.

The problem for all the Scandinavian clubs is that none can match the wages Prica is on at Sunderland, who will be ready to do a deal to move the player on.

Black Cats boss Ricky Sbragia has had talks with the player, recommending he looks for a new football club.

"All footballers are in the game to play football and it's a mistake to sit around at a club for a long period of time if you're not getting first-team football," said Sbragia. "Ultimately it can harm your long-term career if you spend a prolonged amount of time on the sidelines."

Sunderland offloaded Graham Kavanagh, Liam Miller, Ross Wallace, Pascal Chimbonda and El-Hadji Diouf during the January transfer window and Sbragia admitted the savings made in wages over the next six months will strengthen the Black Cats' hand when it comes to the summer market.

And with Prica clearly not part of Sunderland's plans, Rosenborg might be the side which gets lucky with a cut-price deal.

It also remains possible that Prica might go out on loan to a Championship club. But that option remains open to several members of the Sunderland squad, now that the loan window has re-opened for lower tier clubs.

Young striker Martyn Waghorn, now recovered from a hamstring strain, could be in line to follow fellow teenagers Jordan Henderson (Coventry City) and Michael Liddle (Carlisle United) out on temporary spells.

Players who could also be heading out on loans are striker David Dowson, utility player Robbie Weir and goalkeeper Trevor Carson.