Regis Le Bris fails to rule out exit for Sunderland AFC man | OneFootball

Jewison Bennette could make a move away from the Black Cats shortly, even with the winter window now closed in the UK.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has hinted that Jewison Bennette could still secure a move away from the Stadium of Light shortly, despite the fact the January transfer window has closed in the UK.

He made this admission to Chronicle Live, with these comments creating speculation about the Costa Rica international's future.

Some windows, including the Turkish market and the MLS window, remain open at this stage, and this could allow Bennette to secure a loan or permanent exit in the coming days or weeks.

The winger desperately needs to win more game time, having only secured one senior appearance under his belt for the Black Cats this season, and failing to appear enough during his two-and-a-half year stay on Wearside.

And there's little prospect of the player winning much game time in the coming months, so a loan exit may be ideal for the wide player, who previously spent time out on loan at Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.

On deadline day, Bennette was set to seal a loan move to Charlton Athletic, but the deal couldn't be done in time in the end and this has left the 20-year-old in limbo.

He was also linked with a move to Reading during the summer window, but with a takeover dragging on in Berkshire at that point, before collapsing, the Royals couldn't get a deal over the line.

This is a shame for Bennette, who probably would have won a decent amount of game time at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this season.

Not only do they have a lack of depth in this area, but Adrian Akande and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan have both spent time out of action during the 2024/25 campaign.

Regis Le Bris on Jewison Bennette's Sunderland AFC future

The 20-year-old may still stay at the Stadium of Light for the remainder of the campaign, but he could still secure an exit shortly.

Speaking about Bennette's failure to secure a switch to The Valley in the final hours of the winter window, Le Bris told Chronicle Live: "In this transfer window we still have this problem where in the last minutes, this happens.

"It’s still possible to find a club because some markets are still open. We will see."

Sunderland need to choose the right loan destination for Jewison Bennette

Bennette didn't enjoy the best time in Greece with Aris, appearing just twice in a troublesome half-season stint in Europe.

And this reinforces the need for key figures, including Kristjaan Speakman, to pick the right next destination for the player.

He definitely needs a loan spell away from the Stadium of Light at the very least. It's a must if he wants to develop and have the best chance of fulfilling his potential, but the loan club he joins needs to be the right fit.

Not only does he need to win regular starts, but he also needs to be comfortable where he is - and at this point, with Le Bris not giving the Costa Rican youngster any game-time at all, perhaps a permanent move could be considered too.