SAD NEWS FOR SUNDERLAND AFC:HE IS GONE FINALLY….
One Sunderland player in particular may struggle for gametime in the coming weeks, and even months.
Sunderland now have a very well-stocked and balanced first-team squad, which isn’t something that can often be said.
Since their return to the Premier League, Sunderland’s team has lacked proper depth and quality, and has often been plagued by injuries as well.
Now though, following a strong summer transfer haul, Regis Le Bris has a good squad to work with, and the results are showing.
After a 2-2 draw with Leeds United in their last outing, Sunderland now sit in 1st place of the Championship table for this month’s international break.
The Black Cats return to action against Hull City later this month and it could be an emotion debut for Aaron Connolly.
He’s imminent inclusion will further bolster Le Bris’ ranks at Sunderland. And we could also see the inclusion of Salis Abdul Samed in the coming weeks.
The deadline day loan signing from Will Still’s RC Lens is yet to feature owing to injury.
When will Salis Abdul Samed make his Sunderland debut
Samed, 24, was one of four names to arrive at the Stadium of Light on deadline. But similarly to Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi, Samed is yet to debut.
Le Bris previously said that Samed was out for up to 10 days. But that was nearly a month ago.
Latest suggestions say that Samed’s potential availability remains unclear despite it previously being suggested that he’ll be ready for action this month.
Sunderland Echo say that the Black Cats are taking a cautious approach with Samed, who’s yet to feature with the U21s, which is a usual approach the club takes with injured players.
Why Salis Abdul Samed faces uphill battle for game-time
Not only does Samed have to try and break into a Sunderland team that’s performing perfectly well without him, but he has to try and break into a midfield that’s very well-stocked.
Le Bris has the likes of Chris Rigg, Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham at his disposal, and then Aleksic to eventually bed in as well.
And with Samed being a loan player, there’ll surely be more onus on Le Bris to play his permanent players, rather than someone like Samed who likely won’t be at the club beyond this season.
When Samed eventually comes to fitness, it’ll be a real struggle to get anywhere near this current Sunderland XI.
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Sunderland manager Gus Poyet gestures during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland AFC and Aston Villa at The Stadium of Light on Ma…Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Gus Poyet names the one ‘tricky’ thing Sunderland must do in January transfer window
Sat 12 October 2024 15:00
Dan Owen
Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet cannot speak highly enough of the man currently in the Black Cats hotseat.
But if Regis Le Bris is to become the first manager to lead Sunderland to promotion out of the Championship since Roy Keane in 2007, then the January transfer window will first have to be navigated.
And with rumours swirling around some of Le Bris’ star men, Poyet feels that the mid-season market could potentially be the Black Cats’ biggest obstacle as they look to maintain a flying start to the current campaign.
Sunderland’s teen sensation Chris Rigg is on the radar of Manchester United. Goalkeeper Alex Patterson has admirers amongst the Premier League’s elite too.
Jobe Bellingham, meanwhile, was heavily linked with Crystal Palace over the summer. As the 19-year-old continues to hone his talents as a lynchpin in a table-topping midfield, Bellingham is almost certain to have even more admirers in the division above these days.
So, as far as Poyet is concerned, if Sunderland can get to February 1st with their squad intact, then Premier League football could finally be on it’s way back to the Stadium of Light.
Chris Rigg of Sunderland plays during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Leeds United at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, Eng…
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gus Poyet hopes to see Sunderland keep Chris Rigg and co
“You want to keep all the young talent you have as Sunderland have started the season so well,” Poyet, who took the Wearsiders to an EFL Cup final and secured their top-flight survival back in 2014, tells Football League World.
“You can see the coach is doing a great job by the freedom in which the players are playing, the goals and [the] creative football Sunderland are playing.
MORE SUNDERLAND STORIES
“With the current league table, Sunderland need to keep hold of their players as they can keep in the promotion hunt. It seems there isn’t a team who will run away with the title this season.”
“January is always a tricky transfer window,” adds the Chelsea legend, who was most recently seen in the dugout of the Greek national team. “But the main thing for a team like Sunderland is to ensure all players are kept because this season has started so well.
“They can maintain a promotion push in the second half of the season, and don’t want to lose any players who have helped them get into the position they are in now.”
Regis Le Bris is thriving despite lack of prolific strikers
With six wins from their first nine games, Sunderland went into the October international break ahead of Sheffield United on goal difference.
No team in the division has scored more than their 18 goals.
A tally which looks all the more impressive when you consider that Le Bris does not really have a particularly prolific centre-forward at his disposal. Sunderland tried and failed to sign Caen hitman Alexandre Mendy over the summer but have offset any lingering frustration by sharing the goals around in the opening months of 2024/25.
As Mendy continues to find the net regularly over in France, Elizier Mayenda, Luke O’Nien, Chris Rigg, Romaine Mundle and Wilson Isidor have a laudable 11 goals between them in league action.
Le Bris is backing Sunderland’s Zenit St Petersburg loanee Isidor to help fill a void left open by the departure of Ross Stewart back in 2023, however.
“We thought, at the beginning, that could be a left winger. But it is clear now that he could be a good striker as well,” Le Bris, who also coached Isidor at Rennes, told reporters after he scored in the 2-0 win over Derby County.
“I think, game after game, he create more links with his teammates. And they can [better] understand his runs, the way he can receive the ball. I think he is becoming better, especially during crosses for example because [this was] his second goal after a cross.
“So I hope he can continue like that.”
Related Topics
Chris Rigg
Jobe Bellingham
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