Wolverhampton Wanderers look set to sign Norwegian international left back Erlend Hansveit in the next few days.

The 26-year-old defender, currently in New York, is keen to sign for Wolves for around £500,000 from SK Brann and talks between the two clubs have begun.

The Birmingham Post understands that Brann's sporting director Roald BruunHanssen was in the country last night to discuss the deal.

The player's father, Per Bjarte Hanstveit, has admitted his son, who has been capped five times by Norway, would relish a move to England. He said: "Wolves are a big club and we'd obviously be interested to hear what they have to say. It's flattering that they've made contact."

Bruun-Hanssen has confirmed Wolves' approach for Hansveit, who is out of contract in the summer. He said: "It's correct that we have got a request from Wolverhampton regarding Erlend.

"Among other things, they have asked permission to talk to Erlend and we have given them that.

"Erlend has been loyal for us; we don't want to stop him. At the same time, we have told him that we want to extend his contract."

Hansveit would be Wolves' first major signing of the January transfer window as McCarthy seeks to strengthen his squad after a poor run of form, which has seen them win just one of their last eight league games.

McCarthy has also been linked with a move for German defender Dominik Werling, who is on loan at Barnsley from Sakaryaspor.

Meanwhile, Wolves have persuaded Reading to allow goalkeeper Graham Stack to remain on loan for the rest of the season and the 26-year-old is determined to prove he is worthy of a permanent transfer.

The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has just returned to training after an operation on a cartilage injury and faces a three-way battle with Carl Ikeme and Wayne Hennessey for the No 1 jersey in the absence of Matt Murray, who will not feature at all this season as he recovers from a serious knee ligament injury.

Hennessey is in pole position after his recent run of fine form since stepping in for Murray and manager Mick McCarthy has been full of praise for the youngster, who has been one of the few plus points during Wolves' poor run of form in recent weeks.

However, McCarthy is also a fan of Stack, who has made two full appearances for Wolves this season in the League Cup, and has been pleased with his attitude and application during his initial loan spell.

Now Stack is hoping to impress the Wolves boss even more during the remainder of the season in a bid to earn a permanent move. "I am happy to be staying at Wolves," he said. "My contract at Reading is up at the end of the season so ideally I would have liked a permanent move.

"But with three senior keepers here already, I understand that it would be unusual for a club to sign a fourth. So I will have to see what my options are at the end of the season.

"With Carl [Ikeme] fit now and Wayne [Hennessey] doing so well, it's going to be really competitive, but I enjoy that and I am not one to shirk a challenge.

"I have got to work hard to win myself a permanent contract next season. I'm back out on the pitch and I'll be spending this week working up to full training."