Sunderland: Regis Le Bris backed to sanction double exit but urged to keep Jewison Bennette | OneFootball

Bennette, Luis Semedo and Jay Matete are all set to depart the Black Cats, at least temporarily

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After being left out of this past weekend’s pre-season friendly against Blackpool, it looks as if three Sunderland players will be free to leave the club on loan before the 2024/25 campaign gets underway.

Jay Matete, Luis Hemir and Jewison Bennette were all playing with the Black Cats’ under-21 side against Hartlepool instead of with the first-team, with Regis Le Bris making his plans for the trio evident from his squad selection.

All three have had their difficulties in nailing down a starting spot at the Stadium of Light during their respective time with the Wearsiders, and the newly appointed Sunderland boss has wasted no time in outlining his plans for the season ahead.

“Wouldn’t be surprised” - Jay Matete transfer stance after injury setback

Matete is a player who has had a tough time of it of late, with the midfielder ruled out for the remainder of the previous campaign in March, having suffered a knee injury.

The 23-year-old was on loan with League One Oxford United at the time, having also spent time in the third tier with Plymouth Argyle in the previous campaign, as he helped the Pilgrims earn promotion to the Championship.

Since joining Sunderland in January 2022 from Fleetwood Town, the midfielder has only mustered 22 league appearances for the Black Cats, and FLW's Sunderland fan pundit Keith Irving believes offloading him - perhaps permanently - is the best option this summer.

“Starting with Jay Matete, I think most Sunderland fans would agree that if he was going to make the step up to Championship level and be a Championship regular, I think he would have done by now," Keith told Football League World.

“He did have a long injury setback, but I just don’t think he’s up to the standard of all the other midfield options that we’ve got.

“That being said, he’s always enthusiastic and apparently he trains well, but it’s all about the standard of the Championship, and is he up to that standard?

“I just think there’s a big question mark there, so another loan spell away from the Stadium of Light is probably about right for Jay Matete.”

With the plethora of options that Le Bris has at his disposal in the middle of the park at this moment in time, Irving also sees a scenario where the midfielder leaves on a permanent basis.

Matete still has two years left on his current deal at the Stadium of Light, and with first-team chances remaining at a premium on Wearside, there is a definitely a chance that we have seen the last of him in a red and white shirt.

Irving added: “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we did try to offload him though, and maybe free up a little bit of space in the squad to bring in replacements elsewhere.

“When you look at the fact that we’ve got Alan Browne in there, Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil, Chris Rigg as well, Jay Matete is way down the pecking order, so I can see him moving away from the Stadium of Light, for sure.”

“Would benefit” - Luis Hemir urged to secure League One move

In regard to Hemir, Irving believes the Portuguese forward needs some minutes under his belt to develop his game, and the best way to get that could be by dropping down a division.

The 20-year-old featured 23 times for the Black Cats in the last campaign - although just four of those were starts - and failed to find the back of the net during his first season in the Football League.

With that in mind, Irving believes a stint lower down the football pyramid could be exactly what he needs to help rediscover his confidence in front of goal, despite an eye-catching strike against CD Elsense in pre-season.

On the Portuguese striker, Irving said:

“He’s shown with his strike over in Spain that he has got shooting boots, he just misplaces them a lot I think! For a young lad, I do think he would benefit from a move away, somewhere like a League One club would be ideal for him.

“One - to get used to the physicality of the game, and two - just being away from the undoubted pressure of playing in front of Sunderland fans.

“In front of 40,000 plus when you’re not on your best form as a striker can be a bit of a lonely place, so I think for his development a loan away would be very good for him.”

“There is a player there” - Jewison Bennette backed to earn Sunderland redemption

Bennette is the third player on the list who could be deemed surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light, but Irving believes the Costa Rican should be given a chance to prove himself in the season ahead.

The 20-year-old was farmed out to Aris Salonika in Greece for the second-half of the previous campaign, having failed to make much of an impact since first featuring at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign.

The young star’s one league performance of last season saw him come on as a substitute in a 5-0 victory over Southampton in September, and Irving believes he saw enough in that performance to be tempted to give the forward another chance in the year to come.

“I actually want Jewi Bennette to stay around, because I really rate him and I don’t think he’s had a fair crack yet," Keith said on the Central American attacker.

“We saw what he was capable with in that 5-0 win at the beginning of last season against Southampton; pirouetting three times away from the defence, and putting a lovely ball in to Chris Rigg for his first home goal of his career.

“There is a player there, and I would love to see him given that chance to stay with the squad.

“You look at the possibility to Jack Clarke leaving, Patrick Roberts not being in the best form of his career, there’s space there for Jewi Bennette to actually make an impact in that squad.

“The first two, Matete and Hemir, I can see it, and Jewi Bennette - it probably will be a loan move away - but I would rather keep him in the squad because I think there’s an undeniable talent there.”