Why time is running out for Black Cats quintet to secure loan moves

As the final transfer windows across the world start to close, options for those left out of Sunderland's Premier League squad are now dwindling.

- by Phil Smith

There were few surprises when the Black Cats named their 25-man squad to take them up until the January window, with the need to name eight homegrown players meaning some senior pros missed out, even accounting for the significant number of U21 players (who do not need to be named on the list) at the club.

As expected, Sunderland left out those players who were not involved in preseason after Régis Le Bris informed them they would not be part of his squad for the Premier League campaign; Joe Anderson, Jay Matete, Timothée Pembélé, Abdoullah Ba and Ian Poveda remain at the club.

Speaking hours ahead of Sunderland's squad being published, Le Bris said that there were 'maybe' still one or two possibilities for those players to go out and get regular football.

"Maybe one or two opportunities are still possible [for players to leave],” Le Bris said.

"But after that, they will be around the squad. So the current process is still the same. We need 20, 21, 22 players to organise a session. So after that player 23, 24, 25, it will depend on injuries, the way we can manage the load.

"We can have two or three more involved in the process. After that, you have to train with the second squad."