Regis Le Bris reveals Sunderland’s failed attempts to offload player

Regis Le Bris has revealed that the future of Sunderland winger Jewison Bennette remains in limbo after their attempts to loan him out failed.

The 20-year-old Costa Rican had been expected to leave the Stadium of Light during the January transfer window but despite Sunderland’s attempts to secure a loan move – first to Charlton Athletic and then abroad beyond the UK’s deadline, no deal materialised.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris confirmed the club’s efforts to move Bennette on temporarily but admitted they were unsuccessful.

“We were expecting Jewison to find a loan, but in the end, it wasn’t possible for him to sign,” he said. “So now we’ll have to see [what the next steps are].”

Bennette’s situation has become increasingly uncertain, as he is not even featuring for the Black Cats’ Under-21s side.

With competition for places on the left wing fierce, the youngster’s path to first-team action looks unclear.

Bennette joined Sunderland in 2022 from Costa Rican side Club Sport Herediano and initially showed promise under former boss Tony Mowbray.

In his debut season, he made 18 appearances, scoring two goals and providing one assist.

However, his progress stalled, and after falling out of favour, he was loaned out to Greek side Aris Thessaloniki last season.

Reflecting on his time in Greece, Bennette admitted in the Costa Rican press that the move to Aris was a mistake.

“It was quite a complicated year, I made bad decisions, going to a club that broke my contract in every way,” he said. “My agent recommended me to go there, he told me not to talk to anyone, it was a bad decision I made, but I’m learning.”

That spell did little to revive his fortunes, managing only two appearances before returning to the North East of England.

His lack of minutes under Le Bris suggests he is well down the pecking order at the club.