Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
REGIS LE BRIS has told Chemsdine Talbi to use Tommy Watson as his inspiration as he looks to resurrect his Sunderland career following the collapse of a proposed summer move to Saudi Arabia.
Talbi looked destined to leave Wearside last month when the Black Cats agreed the terms of a deal with Saudi side Al-Ittihad.
The Moroccan winger was ready to move to the Middle East, only for the proposed switch to collapse at the last minute, with Sunderland’s director of football, Florent Ghisolfi, confirming the change of plan moments before Talbi played and scored the winning goal in the Carabao Cup third-round win over Hull City.
That remains Talbi’s only start this season, with the 21-year-old having been an unused substitute in Sunderland’s four most recent league matches prior to the international break.
Le Bris understands why Talbi might be feeling frustrated, but points to Watson’s experiences at the end of the 2024-25 season as proof that a player’s fortunes can change very quickly.
Watson was struggling for game time after it was announced he would be leaving Sunderland for Brighton at the end of the campaign, and was even booed by his own supporters when he came on for a brief substitute outing.
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A couple of months later, however, and he was being cheered off the pitch at Wembley after scoring a dramatic last-gasp winner in the play-off final against Sheffield United, a goal that led to his image being used in a giant mural in Sunderland city centre.
“It’s not an easy situation to be fair,” admitted Le Bris. “But we are all involved to try to solve and fix this situation because it’s for him and it’s for us.
“I was thinking about Tommy Watson lately, when we spoke about the good moments during the 100 games I’ve had here. Tommy was a good example. He struggled when he signed to Brighton and had a difficult period, but we stayed true to our beliefs.
“We reconnected him with the squad, and finally he was the scorer just at the end of the season. For Chemsdine, it's exactly the same process. We had a tough period, that’s fair, but we have to make the most of it to get better.”
Talbi’s situation is further complicated by the fact that he was left out of Sunderland’s Europa League squad because, at the time it was submitted to UEFA, it looked as though there was a good chance he would be leaving for Saudi Arabia.
With no prospect of playing in Europe until the start of the knockout stages in the spring, if the Black Cats qualify from the league phase, Talbi will be hoping for more involvement in the Premier League as well as a potential start in the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Brentford at the end of this month.
He has lost his place on Sunderland’s left-hand side to Nilson Angulo, with Malick Fofana now another option on that flank, and finds himself battling with Thomas Meunier and Trai Hume for a spot on the right of the Black Cats midfield.
“One of the main drivers for the start of the season and how we approached it was the momentum we got last season,” said Le Bris, when asked about his selection decisions in the early stages of the current campaign. “I was really well aligned with the starting XI at the end of last season and Nilson was really good at that period.
“We went again with him, and then Malick was recruited as well. We know Chemsdine’s qualities, but he’s also young and needs more maturity. He’s just in this period and we need to work with him and keep improving.”