One departing Sunderland player has penned a message that surprisingly didn’t thank Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris.
Several players have departed Sunderland this season, with Regis Le Bris making it clear as to who he sees in his immediate plans.
Especially in attack, the French boss made several players surplus to requirements, from Abdoullah Ba, who finds himself struggling on loan at Dunkerque, to Jewison Bennette, who has only been used for the Sunderland U21s this season.
Bennett’s only first-team involvement came in the first round of the EFL Cup, which saw Sunderland boss Le Bris utilise a second-string side, with Bennette coming on for the last eight minutes of action alongside striker Luis Hemir, who was also loaned out in the summer transfer window.
Having not been in a Sunderland first team squad since, his departure seemed inevitable, with him set to move to Ukrainian side LNZ Cherkasy. With his move set to be confirmed in the next few days, he has penned a message that has surprisingly left out any recognition of Le Bris.
Jewison Bennette pens farewell Sunderland message as he thanks fans and U21 coaches
Ahead of Bennette’s incoming exit, in which he will move to Ukraine in a permanent move, he took to Instagram to thank the fans in particular during his stint of nearly three years on Wearside.
In the post, Bennette said: “Thank you very much to the fans and teammates for the way they welcomed me.
“The support of the fans from day 1 to my last day in Sunderland treated me in the best way possible. My teammates welcomed me in a good way in the dressing room and made me feel at home. I will always carry those details in my heart, I wish them the best.
“I wanted to thank the U21 coaches. They helped me stay strong and focused on my goals. Now I have a new opportunity and I want to make the most of it. Thanks again to everyone and good luck.”
In the message, Bennette didn’t show any thanks to current Sunderland boss Le Bris, who has only handed him eight minutes of action this season, with the Costa Rican predominantly playing in the U21 set-up.
Jewison Bennette transfer outcome shows the shortcomings of tough Regis Le Bris stance
At the start of the 2024/25 season, it was clear that Sunderland were in need of an overhaul in terms of players, as the current crop had been far from satisfactory in the prior campaign, having dropped to a lowly 16th place by the end.
Le Bris has held strong in ensuring that he doesn’t keep players around the squad that he deemed not quite good enough, and this has paid off in terms of results, but it could be argued that some players were unfairly given very limited game time.
Sunderland winger Bennette is one example of a player who could have, and surely should have been given more of an opportunity in Le Bris’ side, especially considering he was unable to get a summer or January move.
Leaving the youngster to sit in the U21’s certainly doesn’t reflect brilliantly on the French boss, despite his usual tendency to give academy players the necessary game time to help their development.