A number of players could be on their way out of Sunderland in the coming days
Sunderland could be set for an exodus of talent on the periphery of Regis Le Bris’ first team plans over the coming days, with as many as five senior players potentially set to leave the club, according to reports.
The Black Cats have been highly active in the market this summer, bringing in a dozen new signings ahead of their bid for Premier League survival. By contrast, however, just five players have left the club, not including loanees such as Chris Mepham and Salis Abdul Samed, and the understanding is that transfer chiefs could look to redress the balance of their recruitment strategy with a flurry of departures between now and September 1st’s deadline.
According to TEAMtalk, five Sunderland players are being eyed for potential exits, either on loan or on a permanent basis. The online outlet goes on to name the quintet, with winger Ian Poveda chief amongst those being lined up for a transfer. It is understood that the 25-year-old’s availability could alert a number of unnamed Championship suitors.
Likewise, Alan Browne is also expected to garner plenty of attention, with the Republic of Ireland international having fallen down the pecking order at the Stadium of Light in the aftermath of an extensive restructuring of Le Bris’ midfield in recent weeks.
Elsewhere, Nectar Triantis remains in demand following his impressive loan stint with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian last season. Clubs from Europe, the MLS, and the Championship have all been credited with interest at various points. TEAMtalk’s report is then rounded off with claims that Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi, both signed last summer, could leave. The latter in particular is said to be attracting interest from a series of League One sides.
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What has been said about Ian Poveda’s current situation at Sunderland?
For his part, Poveda has been featuring for Graeme Murty’s U21s side during the early knockings of the campaign, and reflecting on the winger’s influence earlier this week, the academy coach said: “You can see the talent, you can see he’s got some magic in his feet, and he’s a nightmare in training because he’s so elusive and he’s so jinky, but he works extremely hard. As we’ve always said, we’re a willing vehicle for players who need to remain sharp, who show the right attitude and who want to come and help the young players and I thought that he was a help to our young players.”
He added: “Let’s face it, we’ve got Finn Holcroft, we’ve got Archie Lightfoot, we’ve got Felix Scott, we’ve got Charlie Dinsdale, all under-18s coming onto that environment and trying to play and he’s been nothing but supportive so we thank him for that and we show our players, he’s the level, we need to challenge you to be better than what you’re seeing.
“It’s really good for us that we get so much support from our first team players that our players can understand they’re not completing their journey yet, they’ve still got steps to make, they’ve still got improvements to make. We keep on emphasising it but it’s really good that we’ve got a really tangible link to the first team that can reinforce that message.”
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