Regis Le Bris is set for his Sunderland debut next weekend.
Regis Le Bris is set to have a difficult pre-season ahead of him, as he looks to turn around the mood at the Stadium of Light, on top of coming to a resolution with the uncertain futures of star players Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke, both of which are attracting Premier League interest.
The Sunderland skipper will also be in an uphill battle to persuade goalkeeper Anthony Patterson to stay at the club, fending off interest from elsewhere.
There are also uncertainties over some of the younger players in the squad who didn’t manage to perform in the 2023/24 Championship campaign, such as Luis Hemir who didn’t manage a single first team goal last season.
Sunderland fans will be eagle-eyed as they await the Black Cats’ first pre-season games on the 13th July as Le Bris will take two squads to face both Gateshead and South Shields.
Here are three things to look out for ahead of the two fixtures…
Regis Le Bris style of play at Sunderland
Many fans will be taking interest in how Le Bris will have the squad set up and how well will the players have adapted to his playing style.
It’s expected that Le Bris will utilise a formation and style that favours a ball-playing goalkeeper in-between the sticks, looking to play out from the back and focus on using the free space.
It’s clear that Patterson will be able to play in this style, however it’s expected that new signing Simon Moore will be used in one of the fixtures, which will be interesting to see how he fares.
The inclusion of Sunderland youth products
It will be interesting to see which young players get the nod to be part of either Sunderland squad for their two friendly matches.
One name in particular that may feature is 18-year-old winger Tom Watson, who featured late on against Sheffield Wednesday in the last game of the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
The Easington-born youngster had a fruitful campaign as part of the youth set-up, scoring 15 goals in the U18 Premier League, as well as achieving 11 goal contributions in the Premier League 2 with the U21’s.
Watson also made a significant contribution in the Premier League 2 play-offs as the U21’s reached the final against Tottenham Hotspur, by bagging two goals and assists in the four matches.
Who will lead the line for both Sunderland squads
It’s expected that Bellingham will likely be utilised up top in one of the pre-season friendlies, however, there will be questions as to who else will be given a shot up front.
Portuguese youngster Hemir may also be given a shot, which could be crucial in repairing his lack of confidence in front of goal.
Ukrainian striker Nazariy Rusyn is also said to be close to returning from an injury he sustained in the last campaign, meaning that he could potentially be utilised in any shape or form.
Le Bris will be eager to get Rusyn firing and pick up his form prior to when he got injured.