One Sunderland loanee has failed to live up to Regis Le Bris’ expectations set at the start of the season.
Sunderland’s 2024/25 Championship season has seen a vast improvement to the lacklustre 2023/24 season, in which the Black Cats fell to a lowly 16th place position following a disastrous conclusion to the year.
The Black Cats under Regis Le Bris have undergone many changes, whether it be through personnel on the pitch, or through style of play, but one key difference ultimately is the lack of deadwood in-and-around the side.
Sunderland bought several youngsters ahead of the 2023/24 season, and, by the time that Le Bris’ tenure had begun, he had already made up his mind on some of these.
The likes of Timothee Pembele and Pierre Ekwah were loaned to Ligue 1 sides, whilst Luis Hemir had a move to Juventus sanctioned, the latter of which certainly hasn’t lived up to Le Bris’ expectations.
Sunderland youngster Luis Hemir has struggled to live up to expectations set by Regis Le Bris ahead of 2024/25
When Le Bris came through the doors of the Stadium of Light, the Sunderland boss made it clear that he was willing to utilise a slimmed-down squad, which ultimately saw several players moved on, either on loan or a permanent basis.
One player that was handed a loan away from Wearside is Luis Hemir, who was sent to Juventus Next Gen, where he has played as their starting striker in Serie C.
It was hoped that Hemir would regain his goalscoring touch that he had at Benfica at youth level, but with just two goals in 26 appearances in the league, it is clear that the 21-year-old has struggled, despite a step down in level.
This certainly isn’t how Le Bris hoped his loan spell would have panned out, considering that, back in August, the Frenchman said: “Hemir is still young.
“We need to understand that the responsibility at the club is very important.
“We need to drill their foundations to be able to do that later.
“I think Hemir has great potential, really, but at the moment he’s not ready for that.”
Regis Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman must be bold with Luis Hemir and struggling youngsters
This season, the landscape of the club has developed, and there is no doubt that the quality of personnel should improve alongside that. There is no doubt that, quality-wise, the current squad is head-and-shoulders above the side that competed last season, and that means that Kristjaan Speakman must be bold surrounding the players returning to Wearside.
Le Bris was clear who he didn’t believe was first-team Championship ready at the start of the season, and, if Sunderland want to continue on a similar trajectory of furthering the quality of their ranks, some stern conversations may have to be held with those simply not meeting the required standards, whether that be whilst on loan or in the current side.