"Time for him to go" - Sunderland AFC outcast urged to secure permanent exit this summer | OneFootball

The Costa Rica international is yet to feature in the Championship this season, and may be out the door this summer.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After a late move to Charlton Athletic disappointingly fell through on deadline day, Jewison Bennette remains a Sunderland player - but for how much longer is anyone's guess.

The Costa Rica international joined the Black Cats in August 2022 on a four-year deal, and while the tricky winger arrived with much fanfare, his Wearside tenure has been underwhelming so far despite early flashes of promise.

The 20-year-old has been completely left out of Regis Le Bris' promotion-chasing side this season, having yet to even make the first-team bench in this year's Championship campaign, with his only outings coming for the under-21's.

In a Mackem side with an embarrassment of young attacking riches, Bennette is quite clearly surplus to requirements, begging the question - why didn't the North East side ensure Bennette was moved on sooner?

Jewison Bennette's Sunderland AFC career predicted to be on borrowed time

When asked whether it would be best for all if Bennette moved on permanently in the summer, if not sooner given the fact that some transfer markets around the world are still open, FLW's Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, concurred that the young winger is currently wasting his career in North East obscurity, something that nobody wants to see.

"I love Bennette, but yeah, I think it's time for him to go," Jack told Football League World.

"He's not going to get in the team, he's so unbelievably far down the pecking order.

"Obviously, we want him to do well. So, it makes more sense for him to be moved on permanently, get a little bit of money and do what's best for him as well.

"It would be good if he could play some proper football. We don't want to hurt his career.

"He was an exciting signing at the time, but it really hasn't gone how we would have liked."

Austwicke echoes Bennette's popularity and likability among the Mackem faithful, while rightfully conceding that there is seemingly no foreseeable path for the winger to reemerge as a first-team asset.

Perhaps the most unfortunate byproduct of Jewison Bennette's English struggles have been his surprising omissions from the Costa Rica National team.

In August 2021, aged 17 years and 2 months, Bennette became Los Ticos' youngest ever player, making his debut against in a friendly against El Salvador.

Bennette played in all of Costa Rica's three matches at the 2022 World Cup, one of only six players to gain minutes at the tournament aged 18 or under.

While his early rise dictated that he was destined to follow the likes of Paulo Wanchope, Bryan Ruiz, Keylor Navas and Joel Campbell as the Central American country's poster boy, Bennette has been excluded from his national side since 2023.

With World Cup qualification looking extremely likely, if Bennette wishes to make a return to his national side in time for a CONCACAF-themed 2026 tournament, he must surely find form elsewhere, and fast, as sporadic appearances for Sunderland under-21's are evidently not cutting the mustard.

It is always a shame when promising young players, for whatever reason, find development circumstantially stunted. However, at just 20 years of age, there is plenty of time for Jewison Bennette to achieve his potential yet.