Sunderland are set for a busy final week of the transfer window
Régis Le Bris is expecting a busy final week of the transfer window when it comes to outgoings, with the club prepared to sanction a number of loan moves for players in his squad.
The club told a number of players at the start of the summer that they would not be in the first-team plans for this season, and progress on that front has been slow to date. Work is ongoing to find new clubs for players such as Abdoullah Ba and Ian Poveda, while there could also be movement for those who Le Bris rates highly but whose game time could be limited by the club's aggressive summer recruitment drive.
Alan Browne and Leo Hjelde are two weighing up their options, though in the case of the latter the situation is complicated slightly by an achilles injury that is not expected to clear until next month. Le Bris would clearly have no issues keeping both in the squad, but hinted that they are free to make a short-term move in search of regular minutes.
Aji Alese is another who could potentially depart on loan, though like Hjelde he won’t be fully fit until next month.
"We had this conversation with Alan, about game time and what he needs for the best future for him," Le Bris said.
"It's an open conversation and we will see next week. Leo made a really strong decision last year to help the team. Even if he wasn't involved in many games during the training sessions, at the end of the game he helped the squad.
"We can decide together whether he can find a solution to have more game time. If it's possible for him it could be useful for his career and maybe for us later. We'll decide next week."
Nectar Triantis is likely to depart either on loan or a permanent basis before the end of the window, while Jenson Seelt could also go out on loan if Sunderland's pursuit of Jhon Lucumí is successful. Seelt's excellent pre-season and strong performance against West Ham United mean that the club would be more than happy to keep him in the squad, however. Le Bris confirmed earlier this summer that Ahmed Abdullahi and Milan Aleksic were also in line for loan moves, after their playing time began to decline towards the end of pre season.
Despite the slow progress in securing moves for those not in the first-team squad this season, Le Bris remains confident that late solutions will be found.
"Yeah the flow of the transfer window is always a bit weird," Le Bris said.
"Sometimes it's really slow and then next week, lots of things will happen. So probably there will be lots of different options for the players. They want to leave so that they can have game time this season, so we will see. I'm confident yes, I hope we can [find a solution]."
Régis Le Bris makes clear Sunderland incoming transfer stance
Sunderland could still make two additions before the end of the window but Le Bris has made clear that he is happy with his squad as it stands if not.
"Stressful or relaxed I don't know, maybe in the middle," he said of his expectations for the last week of the window.
"The last week can always be a bit crazy and chaotic but at the minute we are well organised and working together, so if someone can lose their mind the other one can catch them. We don't have much recruitment to do right now, so if it's possible to sign one or two more players maximum, we will; if it's not possible, we'll stay like that."
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