Sunderland’s crop of players loaned out for the 2024/25 season are having varied success. Here we outline how each of them is getting on.
Sunderland have enjoyed a strong campaign so far, with the club in fourth position in the Championship table after 41 games.
Much of Regis Le Bris’ squad has performed well, as too have many of the players on loan at other clubs, such as Pierre Ekwah. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Timothee Pembele.
Sunderland AFC News looks at how each of the Wearside club’s 10 senior loanees are performing this season.
Sunderland players on loan 2024/25
Abdoullah Ba
- Position: Right Wing
- Club: USL Dunkerque
- Games: 2
- Minutes: 2
- Goals: 1
Abdoullah Ba was not in Le Bris’ plans with all the attacking talent at his disposal so a January exit was always on the cards.
He joined Ligue 2 club USL Dunkerque where he hoped to refind the form that earned him the move to the Wearside club, however, he was yet to be named in the first team squad for the French side in several games until a recent win against Guingamp. This clash saw Ba notch a goal and assist in just 26 minutes of action, a sign that his loan could be back on track.
Adil Aouchiche
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Club: Portsmouth
- Games: 10
- Minutes: 557
- Goals: 1
Sunderland fans are not convinced that Adil Aouchiche should have departed the club last month. The Frenchman had been demoted by Enzo Le Fee but probably still had something to offer the squad.
In a 2-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle, the Sunderland loanee notched his first goal for the side, and he has started seven of Portsmouth’s last eight games.
Nathan Bishop
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Club: Cambridge United
- Games: 12
- Minutes: 1,080
- Clean Sheets: 2
Nathan Bishop struggled to cement his place in a high-flying Wycombe Wanderers side, with number-one shot-stopper Franco Ravizzoli seemingly undroppable.
The Chairboys also signed Will Norris from Portsmouth in January, so Bishop was loaned out to fellow League One club Cambridge United instead.
At Cambridge, Bishop has been cemented as the first-team shot-stopper for the side currently battling relegation in League One.
Pierre Ekwah
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Club: Saint-Etienne
- Games: 23
- Minutes: 2,040
- Goals: 1
One of Sunderland’s more positive loans away from the club sees Pierre Ekwah regularly playing in Ligue 1 for Saint-Etienne.
Results have been difficult, with his side sitting 16th in the table, but the regular game time in one of Europe’s top five leagues will likely see him return to Wearside at the end of the season.
Against Angers in a 3-3 draw, Ekwah notched his first goal for the French outfit, but St Etienne are still facing down the barrel of relegation, sitting 17th in Ligue 1.
Zak Johnson
- Position: Centre-back
- Club: Notts County
- Games: 10
- Minutes: 463
- Goals: 0
Since joining League Two side Notts County on loan in January, Zak Johnson has notched 446 minutes of action.
Initially being behind Jacob Bedeau, Matty Platt, and Rod McDonald in the pecking order, Johnson notched successive starts in a row, but has been dropped back to the bench recently.
Johnson’s most recent action has seen two substitute appearances in successive wins against struggling Newport County and MK Dons.
Jay Matete
- Position: Central Midfield
- Club: Bolton Wanderers
- Games: 40
- Minutes: 2,148
- Goals: 2
At the start of the 2024/25 season, Jay Matete was sanctioned a loan move to join League One side Bolton Wanderers.
The midfielder has accumulated 32 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring twice, and will be key to Bolton’s potential promotion push.
Former Wanderers manager Evatt praised Matete for his performance against Peterborough in October as they saw out a 1-0 win.
In recent time, Matete has only notched 48 minutes of action in the last nine league games.
Timothee Pembele
- Position: Right-back
- Club: Le Havre
- Games: 6
- Minutes: 1,056
- Goals: 1
A move back to Ligue 1 was set to give Timothee Pembele a new lease of life after disappointing at the Stadium of Light, but that certainly hasn’t happened.
In a season that started with the Frenchman slotting in various positions, his poor form meant that he had previously tallied several league games in a row as an unused substitute.
Despite a difficult season, he has seen a change in fortunes recently, starting the last three games, including two wins and a goal.
Luis Semedo
- Position: Striker
- Club: Juventus Next Gen
- Games: 26
- Minutes: 1,228
- Goals: 2
It’s no secret to say that Luis Semedo underperformed in his first season at the Stadium of Light. After joining from Benfica, the attacker failed to score a single goal for the Black Cats.
As a result, Semedo was allowed to leave Sunderland on loan in the summer, eventually joining Juventus Next Gen with an option to buy.
He has continued to struggle in Italy, providing two goals and one assist in 26 Serie C matches, with Juve 10th in the table.
Nectarios Triantis
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Club: Hibernian
- Games: 30
- Minutes: 2,607
- Goals: 3
After a successful spell at Scottish side Hibernian at the back end of the 2023/24 campaign, Nectarios Triantis returned on loan this season.
Triantis has ‘impressed’ as a defensive midfielder for the Edinburgh side as they look to climb into the European places in the Scottish Premiership.
He has bagged three goals for Hibernian, and notably notched an assist in a 2-1 win against Celtic.
His brilliant form was rewarded with his first call-up to Australia’s first team.
Nazariy Rusyn
- Position: Striker
- Club: Hajduk Split
- Games: 8
- Minutes: 1287
- Goals: 0
Sunderland attacker Nazariy Rusyn joined Croatian club Hajduk Split on loan with an option to buy in the January window.
After getting very little game-time this season under Le Bris, it made sense for all parties that the striker moved to pastures new to rediscover his goalscoring touch.
With eight games under his belt, he is still yet to notch a goal.