Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has confirmed that there will be numerous departees from the Stadium of Light, with Jay Matete, Luis Semedo and Jewison Bennette all set to move on in the coming weeks.
The Mackems have possessed the Championship’s youngest squad via average age metrics for the last two seasons after returning to the division from League One in 2022, with a philosophy of recruiting young talent predominantly from overseas and at a low cost essential to the strategy deployed by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman.
While Sunderland achieved an impressive top six finish in their first season back in the Championship, a whole host of factors such as injuries, inconsistency and managerial turbulence alongside the departures of Amad Diallo and Ross Stewart after 2022/23 saw them fall to 16th last term – just six points above the drop zone.
New boss Le Bris has inherited a thin squad in certain regards, with the notable shortage of established striker options a real sticking point among supporters and a significant call of duty that the Frenchman will be urged to address before the window closes at the end of August.
However, Sunderland’s continual investment in young, yet unproven prospects has created a strong periphery at the club with many finding themselves out of favour.
Luis Semedo, who only joined from Benfica twelve months ago, is among a selection of youthful Sunderland squad members to have failed to make an impact on first-team proceedings as of yet, while Jewison Bennette has occasionally shown promise but is yet to establish himself in the side.
It also simply hasn’t worked out for 23-year-old Jay Matete since arriving from Fleetwood Town in January 2022, having been sent out on loan to both Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United since.
Luis Hemir, Jewison Bennette and Jay Matete all set to leave Sunderland
The trio were all absent from the squad for Sunderland’s recent pre-season outing against Blackpool, instead turning out with the under-21 side in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Hartlepool United.
Sunderland have made three signings in the summer window thus far but will intend on bolstering the squad further ahead of Le Bris’ first season in charge and will therefore need to instill balance by rubber-stamping necessary outgoings.
It is reported that all three players will not be a part of Le Bris’ plans for the upcoming campaign, with Sunderland said to be proactively looking to sanction departures.
When quizzed on trimming the squad in the weeks to come, Le Bris said, per the Northern Echo: “Yeah, for sure [it is time to reduce the size of the squad].
“It is now two weeks until we play against Cardiff City, so it is now time to reduce the group and work on the starting XI and the substitutes who will be involved at the start of the season.”
“So, that’s our goal at the moment, and for the other players who can’t be involved for the season, it will be interesting for them to find a loan for sure.”
It’s not yet clear whether all three players will be heading out on loan, which seems a more realistic option for Bennette and Hemir given they’re both of a younger age and have featured less for Sunderland at first-team level than midfielder Matete.
Regis Le Bris’ stance on Luis Hemir, Jewison Bennette and Jay Matete is good news for Sunderland
Much more will have been expected of Matete on Wearside and the same feeling is applicable to Hemir and Bennette, albeit to a lesser extent.
But ultimately, strength in depth is required in order to really compete in the Championship and that was partially Sunderland’s undoing last term, with too much faith in untried youngsters placed at the expense of experience, know-how and tried-and-tested quality.
A forward-thinking strategy of low-cost, high-profit investment in unknown young prospects is clearly a viable and promising model, but it must be treated with balance and should never completely sacrifice the aforementioned fundamentals.
Refreshingly, Sunderland’s 2024 summer business is reflective of a lesson learned and it’s most certainly in the best interest of all three players to move elsewhere and play regular football.
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