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A quick review of Sunderland’s official website shows thirty six first-team players, and with a little over two weeks of the transfer window remaining, that’s a problem as it’s known that Régis Le Bris prefers to work with a small group.
For some players, it’ll have been clear since last season that they have no future at Sunderland, whereas the others will have known their situation since early in pre-season. Hopefully, most will have been working on something new, so we might see a rush of outgoings — but what if we don’t?
Sunderland Head Coach Regis Le Bris is present during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sunderland Head Coach Regis Le Bris is present during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Le Bris stated clearly that six players (Joe Anderson, Abdoullah Ba, Hemir, Jay Matete, Poveda and Nazariy Rusyn) should find new clubs. Timothée Pembélé hasn’t been seen in pre-season and I doubt we need four goalkeepers, so we can add Blondy Nna Noukeu to the list, making eight.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for Hemir and Rusyn, and the coaching staff must’ve seen something in Matete that meant he was never given a chance. Ba was given lots of opportunities but failed to make his mark, and Pembélé‘s attitude never seemed right, which was a problem given that he had to displace Trai Hume.
I’m guessing that Niall Huggins needs a loan to rebuild after his layoff, and Ahmed Abdullahi and Milan Aleksić to gain experience. Zak Johnson and Harrison Jones’ situations are more difficult to assess — Johnson did well in pre-season before taking a knock and Jones played a lot, although out of position.
Nectar Triantis’ situation seems unresolved, as he was injured for part of pre-season and when he did play, it was at centre half. Jenson Seelt seemed destined for a loan, but appears to have played himself into the first team picture, so I have a feeling that we’ll keep Triantis and Jones at least until Christmas, so that leaves us with four loanees, and possible a couple from the U21s.
AUGSBURG, GERMANY - AUGUST 09: Jenson Seelt of Sunderland during warm up prior to the pre-season friendly match between Augsburg and Sunderland at WWK ARENA on August 09, 2025 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Sunderland AFC/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
AUGSBURG, GERMANY - AUGUST 09: Jenson Seelt of Sunderland during warm up prior to the pre-season friendly match between Augsburg and Sunderland at WWK ARENA on August 09, 2025 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Sunderland AFC/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
It’s clear the reason we’re in this situation is because of the model the club has stuck to since the dark days in League One. It’s a model that’s brought us this far with a hiccup in one transfer window that delivered three of the players now in the ‘selling’ group.
I assume we aren’t paying these players huge salaries — unlike the dark days when we brought in end-of-career journeymen or made awful transfer decisions on the likes of Didier N’dong and Papy Djilobodji (thanks, Moyes). That said, we’re unlikely to generate sales that cover our initial investment.
The loan group could probably be kept ticking over with the odd game in the U21s and Carabao Cup, ready for another try in the next window. However, that restricts opportunities for those who might be promoted from the for the occasional game from the U18s.
The leavers are a bigger problem as their contracts run to the summer of 2026 (3), 2027 (3) and 2028 (2). Coaches would need to be assigned to train them away from the main group and as they would still be in the building, there’s a chance they could be disruptive.
It’s a problem the club needs to solve, and time is running out.