Sunderland fans are now facing the reality that Jack Clarke could be set to leave over the next week.
The Black Cats had done well to keep hold of their star player so far this summer and had only a matter of days to avoid any tempting bids.
However, Ipswich Town have now launched a £15 million offer for his signature, which the club are said to be ‘considering’.
Sunderland fans are frustrated by this decision though, given that the Wearside outfit previously valued him at around the £25m mark.
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Le Bris admits selling players is the ‘rules’
Sunderland are yet to respond to the bid, and while Regis Le Bris was very tight-lipped on his situation, he refused to deny the possibility of his departure.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Le Bris said: “Well he trained this morning, so this is my main concern. He is available for the team this weekend at the moment.
“Many of our players are targeted by other teams because the transfer window is like that. When you have talented players in the squad, the other clubs could be interested.
“It’s the rules of the transfer window and for me, we need to be confident, because we have these kind of players in our team. It’s good news for us. But sometimes some of them can leave because it’s the rules of our job. We’ll see.”
Sunderland need to push for more than £15m
The Frenchman gave very little away when asked about Clarke, but it did suggest that he could leave before the deadline.
Whether or not that it is due to the club accepting the £15m bid remains to be seen, but supporters will be hoping they at least push for another £5m before letting him go.
Tottenham Hotspur are set to rake in a hefty sell-on clause if he goes go, so £15m would be looking extremely disappointing given what he is worth to the team.
The Black Cats really don’t need to sell and Clarke hasn’t shown any indication of forcing a move through, so why Kyril Louis-Dreyfus would just happily hand him over in a bargain deal is questionable.