victory over Luton Town. Afterwards, Fülöp expressed his desire to join Sunderland permanently. His deal at Sunderland was made permanent for £900,000 on 2 January 2007, in a deal which involved fellow goalkeeper Ben Alnwick going to Tottenham Hotspur. Fülöp signed a year-long loan deal with Leicester City of the Championship on 16 August 2007, making his debut against Crystal Palace two days later, which ended in a 2–2 draw. On 1 September, the goalkeeper made a string of superb saves against Plymouth Argyle to ensure Leicester a point at Home Park. This would be the first of a number of fine performances from Fülöp. On 26 September, he made saves which contributed in the team's shock victory over top-flight Aston Villa in the League Cup. He was twice named in the Championship Team of the Week, on 1 and 22 October. Fülöp made another fine performance against Chelsea in another League Cup match on 31 October, twice denying Claudio Pizarro and pushing an effort from Scott Sinclair onto the post, but could not prevent his side from losing 4–3 at Stamford Bridge. His form during that season prompted the club to bid for him on a permanent basis in the January transfer window. Fülöp told Sky Sports on 21 December that he was interested in a permanent deal with Leicester, and the club made an offer for him eight days later, together with Graham Kavanagh. He played his last match for Leicester in a 1–1 draw against Charlton Athletic at the Walkers Stadium on 29 December 2007. Fülöp was recalled to Sunderland on 31 December. On 4 January 2008, Leicester manager Ian Holloway accused Sunderland counterpart Roy Keane of being greedy after his initial bid to sign Fülöp was rejected. A total of £1 million was offered, however Keane demanded £3 million. Holloway refused to pay more than £1 million, ending any hopes of keeping Fülöp. Fülöp revealed on 25 January that he was unhappy to be recalled by Keane and that he actually wanted to stay at Leicester. Fülöp was loaned to Stoke City on 22 February 2008, but was recalled by Sunderland just four days later as back up cover to Craig Gordon following Darren Ward's injury, making one appearance in the final Premier League game at home to Arsenal. Stoke had a bid of £1.7 million for him rejected by Sunderland in June, but the clubs