The 5 Sunderland AFC players we can see leaving in January | OneFootball

We looked at which Sunderland players could be set to leave the club in the January transfer window.

It has been an excellent start to the season for Sunderland in the Championship.

Sunderland endured an incredibly disappointing campaign last season as they finished 16th in the table, but after a lengthy managerial search that lasted over 120 days, a new era is underway at the club following the appointment of Regis Le Bris.

Le Bris rebuilt his squad this summer with 10 new signings arriving at the Stadium of Light, and on the basis of the early season evidence, it seems the Black Cats have done some good business.

With Sunderland currently among the promotion contenders in the Championship, Le Bris will be keen to strengthen his squad in January for the second half of the campaign, but given their outstanding start, much of the club's focus will be on keeping hold of their key players.

However, Le Bris may sanction the exits of some of those who are not part of his plans, and we looked at which Black Cats players could be set to leave the club during the winter window.

Blondy Nna Noukeu

Goalkeeper Blondy Nna Noukeu joined Sunderland on a free transfer this summer following his release by Stoke City.

Noukeu is currently the Black Cats' third choice goalkeeper, but should Anthony Patterson leave next summer amid reports of interest from Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Liverpool, he could find himself higher up the pecking order.

The 23-year-old's only senior career appearances to date have come during loan spells with Crawley Town and Southend United, so it is difficult to know if he is ready for the Championship, but a temporary move in January could help Le Bris to assess whether he can step up to replace Patterson in the event of his departure.

Adil Aouchiche

Midfielder Adil Aouchiche made the move to Sunderland from Lorient last summer, and he enjoyed a decent first season at the Stadium of Light.

While Aouchiche struggled to nail down a regular place in the starting line-up, he did show glimpses of his potential over the course of the campaign, and he scored two goals and provided two assists in 28 appearances.

Given that Aouchiche worked with Le Bris previously at Lorient, some assumed he would have a key role to play this season under the Frenchman, but he has surprisingly found himself out of favour.

Le Bris has left the door open for Aouchiche and team-mate Abdoullah Ba to force their way back into the team, telling The Northern Echo: "It's a question of the dynamic, the momentum of the game - so we will see. Adil and Abdoullah are with us until the next transfer window, so they have my trust as players of Sunderland and players who have qualities to play and perform in the game.

"Because they had the opportunity to leave, they needed to reconnect to the project and I like their behaviour in the training sessions this week."

However, Aouchiche has frequently been left out of the matchday squad this season, with Le Bris naming academy products among the substitutes ahead of him, so the 22-year-old's departure in January looks inevitable.

Abdoullah Ba

Winger Abdoullah Ba joined Sunderland from Le Havre in the summer of 2022, and he scored four goals and registered five assists in 73 appearances during his first two seasons at the club.

However, as previously mentioned, Ba has found his minutes limited this season under Le Bris, and like Aouchiche, he was free to leave the club this summer.

Ba has found himself back in the matchday squad in recent weeks, which could suggest that Le Bris' stance on the 21-year-old is beginning to change, and there is no doubt he could be a useful asset for the Black Cats in their promotion push.

However, it seems unlikely that Ba will become a regular starter for Sunderland over the coming months, and with that in mind, his exit in January still feels like a strong possibility.

Jewison Bennette

Winger Jewison Bennette made the move to Sunderland from Herediano in the summer of 2022, but it has not worked out for him at the Stadium of Light.

After struggling for game time in the first half of last season, Bennette joined Aris Thessaloniki on loan in January, but he made just two appearances for the Greek side, and he was substituted at half-time on both occasions.

Bennette made his first appearance for the Black Cats since last September when he came off the bench in the 2-0 defeat at Preston North End in the EFL Cup in August.

The 20-year-old is undoubtedly a player with a lot of potential, underlined by the fact that he featured three times for Costa Rica in the World Cup in 2022, but he has found it tough on Wearside, and his permanent departure in January could be the right move for all parties.

Nazariy Rusyn

Striker Nazariy Rusyn joined Sunderland from Zorya Luhansk last summer, but he is another player who has struggled to make an impact.

Rusyn scored just two goals and provided one assist in 22 games for the Black Cats last season, and despite the club's striker shortage, he has been limited to mainly substitute appearances in the early stages of this campaign.

Sunderland signed free agent striker Aaron Connolly last month to bolster their forward line, raising question marks over how much game time Rusyn will receive moving forward, and Le Bris admitted he is unsure whether the 25-year-old has a future at the Stadium of Light.

"We don't know," Le Bris told The Northern Echo.

"What we want to do is build a good level of competition in every position.

"It was clear that for this position. We have Mayenda, Ahmed is injured at the minute and Naz. So only two players for that position. We needed to recruit another player as soon as possible.

"We have the right level of competition. With this competition, many things can happen. It's not bad competition, it's a team and we will need these three players in good shape and able to play at their best level to perform as a team. It's a good number."