Sunderland look set to head into their Championship opener with their squad well intact.
Sunderland were expected to lose some of their prized assets this summer and have already received offers for the likes of Pierre Ekwah and Trai Hume.
However, they have managed to tie down both Dan Ballard and Chris Rigg to new contracts and have so far kept hold of Jack Clarke.
The Black Cats look set to take their strongest team to Cardiff City, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t part ways with those on the fringes.
The likes of Elliot Embleton and Jay Matete have been linked with a loan exit, but it is thought to be Jewison Bennette who is pushing for a move away.
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Jewison Bennette is ‘expected’ to leave Sunderland
Costa Rican journalist Kevin Jimenez has wrote on X: “Jewison Bennette will look for a loan this market, the Costa Rican winger is with Sunderland’s under-21 team and a loan exit is what is expected for this season.”
Sunderland had high hopes for Bennette when he arrived in 2022 and went onto score in his second game for the club.
However, the winger only featured twice last season before enduring an injury-ridden loan spell in Greece.
Bennette only turned 20 years old in June and has plenty of time to improve, but preseason has proven that he is still far from the starting line-up.
While Clarke is yet to be sold, Romaine Mundle’s ‘superb’ recent form has pushed him way ahead of Bennette in the pecking order.
Ian Poveda’s arrival has also made it even less likely that the ‘exciting’ Costa Rican will get any minutes next term.
What is the best move for the 20-year-old winger?
Every Sunderland fan will agree that it is the best move for Bennette, but it’s not going to help him at all if he picks up another injury.
If he fails to impress out on loan next season then the Black Cats should consider offloading him permanently, as he will enter the final 12 months of his contract next summer.
Bennette clearly has some potential but whether he will reach that in the Championship or even the Premier League is another question.
The Wearside outfit should be sending the youngster out on loan further down the English pyramid so he can continue to settle in England. It certainly doesn’t help if he has to acclimatise to a completely new country, language and league elsewhere.