Carabao Cup exit reaction and Sunderland vs Brentford preview

Name: Carabao Cup exit reaction and Sunderland vs Brentford preview
Uploaded: 2025-08-27T10:07:48+00:00
Duration: 33 min 47 s
Channel: Sunderland Echo
Description: Carabao Cup exit reaction and Sunderland vs Brentford preview

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00:00Hello, welcome to the Raw podcast brought to you by the Sunland Echo. My name is Jason

00:23Jones, joined by James Copley. James, a little bit of a review, a little bit of a preview

00:29today. We'll start with the Carabao Cup game, games for this field town. Obviously, Sunderland

00:34crashing out of the competition on penalties. A much-changed line-up from Regis Lebris last

00:39night. I suppose we'll go through the game, but the first question is, any of those players

00:46involved last night? Do you think any of them have made a case to be involved against Brentford

00:51the weekend? No, I wouldn't say so. I think, you know, Masuaku and Nordi Mukulele were decent,

01:00obviously playing centre-back together for the first time. Neither really play centre-back

01:06as their main position. They can play, obviously. Nordi is a right-back and Masuaku tends to

01:12be a left-back. So, whilst I wouldn't say either of them were fantastic or pulled up any trees,

01:18I think it's slightly too early to judge them. And I think they'll both be important going

01:23forward into the new season. But in terms of the rest of the team, no, not really. Obviously,

01:28Guy, who got his goal, didn't he? But struggled to get into the game. I didn't really think

01:35anybody performed amazingly well. Harrison Jones, I thought, did OK periods. At left-back,

01:42you know, he got the ball forward and tried to advance it. He was fairly combative on the day.

01:50Patrick Roberts had a few little jink and runs, but generally, I thought, it was a very,

01:54very subpar performance by Sun. And obviously, 11 changes. Playing against a League One side

02:00that made 10 changes. Now, it's a very good League One team. There's a lot of championship

02:03experience in there. Lyndon Gooch, as we know. Marcus Harness coming off the bench. Lee Nicholls

02:07and Goal, who saved the penalty. But that team that Southern fielded should have had enough,

02:14in my opinion. I don't think the tactics of the first half helped. 4-4-2. I think Regis

02:19Libris probably got that wrong. He changed it in the second half. Went to a 4-3-3. Looked

02:23a little bit better. Created a little bit more. But for me, it was disappointing. You can't

02:30read loads into it because it is a much-changed side. But then again, Hudsfield was a much-changed

02:37side as well. So, that as an excuse sort of falls by the wayside a little bit. Personally,

02:44I would have liked to have seen some of those players stake their claim in a better way.

02:50It didn't happen. Again, caveat that with a lot of these players haven't played together.

02:55I doubt that 11 will ever play for Sun and Ever again, just because that's just the way

02:59this sort of B squad's working, isn't it? So, it's tough to come in from the cold. I do

03:04understand that. But, you know, if you want to be a Premier League player, you're playing

03:08against the N1 opposition, I think you've got to show what you're about. I think it's

03:10an opportunity missed for a fair few of those players, to be honest, which is a shame because

03:15I like a lot of that team. I think if that team played together regularly, it could be,

03:22you know, high-end championship. Knock it on the sort of Premier League for some of these

03:28players, but it just didn't happen. It's disappointing, but if they, you know, if

03:34something go and win against Brentford, then all will be forgotten and forgiven.

03:37Yeah, I mean, obviously, you were at the match. I was watching on TV from home. The whole thing,

03:45you know, obviously, smaller crowd, second-string team. I think it's fair to say it all just felt

03:51a little bit subdued from me off. And it certainly wasn't made better by an absolutely stunning opening

03:57goal from Huddersfield either. And from that point on, it felt as if Sunderland were very

04:02much chasing something, obviously, in terms of scoreline, but just in terms of trying to

04:06drum up some kind of momentum, almost, you know. It really seemed like an uphill battle

04:13for Sunderland last night. I mean, do you think that's a fair assessment?

04:17No, absolutely. And I think it comes down to connections on the field. Obviously, that

04:21goal by Castledine's wonderful strike. And then Huddersfield have got something to hold

04:27on to, so it makes it a bit easier for them. They can sit in. The onus is then on Sunderland.

04:32But I still think some of those players should have done better, regardless of, you know,

04:37not being that familiar with each other. You know, Guilherme and Wilson Isidore up front,

04:42did they really make enough trouble in the first half? I didn't really think so. Did

04:46Sunderland get the ball forward enough? It was all a bit sort of pedestrian. The intensity

04:50wasn't there. But again, to be a point, if you want to play for Sunderland in the Premier

04:55League and you want to break into this squad, because, you know, La Brice has clearly outlined

04:59his first-choice team, hasn't he? His first-choice XI, and then, you know, his first couple of

05:06substitutes, and then everybody else is sort of scrapping around for places. If you want

05:10to advance your case, then I think you've got to show a bit more intensity, regardless

05:14of, you know, the crowd. You're playing for yourself, playing for your future. So, look,

05:19it's not the end of the world. It's just a Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield

05:22Town. I doubt we'll even remember this game in sort of three or four months, but it just

05:28feels a little disappointing that some of those players couldn't sort of hook the game

05:32a little bit.

05:33Yeah, and I think the other thing to say is that, you know, obviously we had a similar

05:36thing last season, didn't we, where someone crashed out in the first round against Preston

05:40North End, and at the time, the impression was very much that Regis Lepriss wasn't particularly

05:46bothered, I think it's fair to say. You know, he felt as if his priorities lay elsewhere

05:52last season, and I suppose there's probably an argument to be made for him feeling similar

05:57this season. Obviously, the bigger concern is that on an individual level that the players

06:00involved perhaps didn't quite slip up in the way that we would have hoped. But, you know,

06:06were there positives to be taken in some regards? I mean, obviously we spoke about Mark Glee,

06:11and it might not have been a sort of glittering performance, but he got himself on the score

06:15sheet, and, you know, beyond that, I thought that there were some promising moments, certainly

06:23in a sort of forward-facing sense as well, in terms of the distribution from the likes of

06:27Kiele and Masuaku, and some signs of their quality as well. So, obviously not a performance

06:33overall that was particularly great, but some positives to be taken, perhaps?

06:36Yeah, I think, I think so. You know, Jenson Jones coming off the bench at half-time did

06:44quite well. It was nice to see him get a full senior debut, watched him a little bit for

06:49the under-21s. As I say, Harrison Jones, I thought, did well, considering left-backs not

06:53really his position. Giu getting that goal, I think, is, you know, that's positive. It gets

06:59him off to a good start. I was a bit flummoxed as to why he didn't take a penalty, but I'm not

07:04sure what's sort of happened there. Yeah, you know, the fact that Sullen had improved

07:09in the second half, arguably could have won the game, should have won the game, is a little

07:15bit of a positive. But, yeah, I just think it feels a bit flat after that for me. It

07:20felt a bit flat in the stadium, as you've alluded to. I think you're right to point towards

07:24the game last season, but the circumstances are slightly different. I mean, that squad was

07:28like Abdelambar, Joe Anderson, Timothy Pembele, I think, was playing Rusin. And it was, again,

07:36it's another championship side. And Preston at the time, I think, it just sacked the manager.

07:40They needed a result, so they went full strength. Whereas this was a much-changed Huddersfield

07:44side. And really, you know, while it was Sunderland's sort of reserve team, quote-unquote,

07:51there's still a lot of talent in there. Like Daniel Kapp in the club last season, Anthony

07:54Patterson was the starting goalkeeper, and the play-off final did amazingly well. Not

07:58that I'm digging those two players out, but, you know, Mark Hughes won the European trophy.

08:06You know, Wilson East has all got 15 goal contributions. You know, ends all the phase

08:11for £20 million play, you know. So, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a little bit

08:17more. Yeah, a few positives, but not really overridingly so for me. Maybe it's just a little

08:24bit tired and a bit grouchy, Jason, because, yeah, it was an early start and a late finish.

08:31But, yeah, I just think, I just think it was, yeah, it was flat and it was under par,

08:35and I just felt I could have done better.

08:38Just before we move on, I do want to ask you about Harrison Jones, because, obviously,

08:43played most of pre-season at full-back. He's predominantly, not just a centre midfield,

08:49but a sort of creative centre midfield player as well. We've seen him start, obviously,

08:52in the number 10 role a lot for the under-21s last season. I mean, how do you sort of assess

08:59what Regis Lebris is doing with him at the moment? Do you think it's a necessity thing?

09:04Do you think it's a potential route into the first-team forum? Do you still potentially

09:08expect him to head out on loan if an opportunity arrives over the course of the next few days?

09:14Yeah, interesting question. I think Regis Lebris really likes him, really rates him. I think

09:17Harrison Jones continues to impress around the academy with his work rate, his mentality,

09:21his attitude. I thought he would have gone out on loan before now, but he hasn't,

09:27because they really like him, and I think they think that he improves the intensity of that group.

09:33Really nice lad as well, really down to worth. There's no sort of prima donna about him or

09:38any of that sort of stuff. So, yeah, I've been surprised he hasn't gone out on loan,

09:43and I think that's credit to him, really. I do think possibly he needs to go out on loan at some

09:46point. Let's face it, he's not going to play a lot in the Premier League unless there's a spate of injuries.

09:51You know, moving to left-back, I don't think is a bad thing. We've seen it over the years

09:55with a couple of midfielders, but I would like to see him just go somewhere. Maybe it's

10:00going to happen now, perhaps more likely to happen in January, I don't know, but I would

10:05like to see him go somewhere and get sort of 10, 15 games under his belt consecutively as well.

10:13I think we always underestimate the impact it can have on a young player playing consecutive

10:18first team minutes. I'm talking 15, 20, 25 games in the first team, one after the other. It

10:24does make a massive, massive difference. And I always say it's really harsh to judge a

10:29new player coming into Sunday until you've seen that, really, because you need to find

10:33your rhythm, you need to find patterns. So whilst I think Harrison Jones is developing well,

10:38I like him. I like him as a player. I think he's got good technical attributes. I think

10:44it's been good for him to have that experience of being at Wembley and being around the first

10:48team and training with Sunderland. At some point, he's going to need to play. Is that going

10:53to happen necessarily this season in the Premier League? I would suspect not. So at some point,

10:57I think a deal probably has to be done.

11:01Obviously, Jones started left back. Niall Huggins started at right back. Hooked at half

11:08time, another potential injury setback bar and reduced the bris was seemingly sane. I

11:13mean, if that is the case, we've just got to hope it's not so serious because the lads

11:17had no luck whatsoever when it comes to his fitness, has he?

11:20No, he hasn't at all. It's a real shame. As I say, I thought Jenson Jones came on and did

11:27reasonably well. But yeah, let's hope it's not too bad. And it's just a little bit of

11:32a setback. Obviously, with him coming off at half time, you would hope that they've just

11:37been sort of uber cautious about that. Maybe he's just felt that a little bit. So I think

11:43we'll learn more about that in due course. But yeah, it's just a shame how it happens to

11:49some players, isn't it? Because he's just, he can't seem to get a run of momentum.

11:54On a similar note as well, obviously, the bris spoke about the extent of Dan Ballard's

11:59injury last night as well. Ballard obviously came off in the opening minutes, wasn't it,

12:03against Burnley at the weekend with a groin complaint. I mean, any sort of idea on how long

12:09that's going to be then, James?

12:11Stone, the bris said after the game, that will be about two or three weeks. He said,

12:18he didn't see it as a real serious injury. So two or three weeks, he's probably looking

12:23at after the international break. I think there's a reasonable expectation when to have

12:28him back, which begs the question, and I'll throw this to you, James, because I have to

12:32write something very quickly. But what would your sort of back four be for the Brentford game

12:38now that Masiwaku, Nordi Mukilere are fit? But without Ballard, Jenson Jones is obviously,

12:45sorry, not Jenson Jones, Jenson Sealt is sort of around the club still as well. What would you do?

12:52Yeah, it's a bit of a tricky one, isn't it? I think that ultimately what it's probably going

12:57to come down to is who plays alongside former Alderetti. I think that's fair to say.

13:02I imagine the choice will be between Jenson Sealt and Nordi Mukilere. Again, I thought

13:11that for the most part, it was quite impressive when Mukilere sent it back last night, especially

13:15in terms of what he's able to offer in sort of moving Sunderland up the field as distribution.

13:20I thought he drove for the ball quite effectively on a couple of occasions as well. So he's certainly

13:25an option. I suppose the biggest question is going to be how ready is he for a full 90 minutes

13:32in the Premier League? Obviously, he played the majority of last night's match, which is

13:35a promising sign that he's got those minutes in his legs. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised

13:42if it was Jenson Sealt again. Just because I actually think in the two performances that

13:49we've seen from him, obviously, I know he came off earlier against West Ham and he didn't

13:53start against Burnley, but he did play the majority of that game. I actually think he's equipped

13:57himself pretty well and perhaps better than many of us would have necessarily expected,

14:01given, first of all, the extent of the injury that he was coming off the back of. And secondly,

14:06his lack of experience still. Obviously, I know he's been in Sunderland a little while

14:10now, but he hasn't played an awful lot of football. Certainly at this top, top level in

14:14the Premier League, he's, you know, has no experience prior to this season. So, yeah,

14:19I've been relatively impressed with Steele, I should say. So I wouldn't be opposed to him

14:25getting the nod on Saturday. Again, I think that if Mookie L.A. is ready to go, given his

14:34pedigree, you know, given his experience, perhaps that's the route that LeBrus will go down.

14:40But I think either way, you know, it shouldn't be a point of huge concern for Sunderland.

14:48I know Ballard's a huge, huge miss, and I'm not saying he's not, don't get me wrong. But

14:51I don't think it should be a point of huge, huge concern for Sunderland because the options

14:56that they have in reserve as alternatives have both shown signs of promise already.

15:02Absolutely. And some breaking news, Lewis Hemiah-Samedo has left Sunderland on loan,

15:08Jase, which probably needed to happen. That's what I was just writing away in the background

15:12there. Your thoughts on that?

15:15Yeah, no, no great surprise. I think it's fair to say, is it? I mean, obviously, the fact

15:23that it's a loan is perhaps a little bit eye-catching. I don't think anybody would have necessarily

15:26raised any eyebrows if it was a permanent exit. It's just one of those moves that hasn't

15:32quite worked out, has it? You know, obviously not every piece of recruitment is going to

15:35be a home run. For whatever reason, Hemiah hasn't quite been able to settle and make the

15:43impact that I think he or the club would have liked on Wieside. I suppose that the hope

15:48is that, from his point of view, is that he can go somewhere and find a sort of a destination

15:55where he's actually able to sort of discover some sort of rhythm and some sort of goal-scoring

15:59rhythm? Because obviously he went to Juventus next-gen, like their sort of development side

16:05last season, and played a fair amount but didn't necessarily score all that frequently.

16:11And I mean, again, this is me not exactly knowing where he is. Is it Moro Renzi? Is that

16:16the sort of Portugal he's gone to?

16:18Yeah, back to Portugal, yeah.

16:19OK, fair enough. So you'd hope that if he's gone there, you know, a bit of senior experience,

16:26maybe a bit of a reset for the line, and he can start to find the back of the net more

16:29frequently. But yeah, like I say, in terms of him leaving Sunderland, I don't think that's

16:34a huge shock, is it, if we're being honest?

16:36It's interesting, isn't it? Just we're going off on a little bit of a tangent, but like sliding

16:40doors moments for players. I remember when Sunderland thrashed Southampton at the stadium of

16:45like 5-0 under Tony Mowbray. I think Russell Martin was the manager, actually. Southampton

16:50ended up going up that season, of course, but he may have missed a chance, didn't he? And

16:54if he'd have just put that away, you never quite know how his Sunderland career would

16:57have advanced from there. But to be brutally honest, Jason, I wish him well, and I hope

17:04he, you know, does well on loan, obviously, because it's in Sunderland's interest. But having

17:07seen him for the first season for the under-21s, fortunately, I just don't think he's at

17:11the level, and I don't think his style really suits English football either.

17:17Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment. We've seen him quite frequently for the under-21s,

17:22relatively frequently, obviously. I know he spent time in Italy last year, but, you know,

17:25the performances that we've seen for the under-21s, again, look, you don't want to criticise

17:32a young player too much at all. And I think he has shown that he has flashes of quality and

17:38there is some potential then. I think that's really important to state because, you know,

17:41I remember his goal in pre-season, in the last season over in the US. Was it last season

17:47or was it season four? Anyway, whatever it was, it was a fantastic strike, you know, and

17:53we've seen that he is capable of those moments of brilliance. But there's maybe, for my money,

17:58just a little bit of lacking intensity at the present moment in time. And I think that

18:04that's maybe quite natural because he hasn't played a lot of senior football. I think that's

18:08something that comes with more experience and sort of being in and around that environment.

18:12I think that's why you'd hope this move is maybe the one where he starts to really get

18:17the grips of what it takes to play first-team football. Because like you say as well, not

18:21just for him, but for someone's interest as well. Because even if it doesn't work out

18:24on Lee's side, he obviously moves somewhere else. You'd hope that he has a decent amount

18:31of perspective suitors after him for everybody's interest, you know.

18:35Yeah, absolutely. Right. What do we talk about next?

18:38Well, on that note, should we talk about...

18:41It's a podcast, isn't it?

18:44Hey, look, when Hamia goes, you drop everything and you're discussing.

18:47Oh, absolutely.

18:49Well, let's talk about other transfer priorities. I guess incoming and outgoing. Obviously, Hamia

18:56leaving on loan there. But there will be others besides, I think it's fair to say,

18:59between now and Monday. Obviously, we saw Nectar Triantus go to Minnesota United

19:03in recent days. And you would suspect that there'll be a few other players,

19:10and potentially even a few who featured last night in the Carabaugh,

19:14that Sunderland look to move on, just to try and clear up a little bit of space.

19:17And also to give these players the opportunity to earn minutes.

19:20Some permanent, perhaps. A few on loan, you would imagine.

19:23But yeah, that's surely got to be one of Sunderland's priorities over the coming days, hasn't it?

19:29I think so. And I'm just looking at the squad list now. I think potentially Blondie,

19:35the goalkeeper, could go. He's been linked with a move abroad.

19:40Moving into the defence, Timothy Pempele. There's a lot of talk around Jenson, isn't there?

19:46But that would probably, likely depend on whether Sunderland can get somebody in.

19:51Zach Johnson got a bit of an injury, but he probably needs to go out on loan.

19:56Leo Hjelda, LeBrice mentioned that, despite him currently having a knock,

20:00that he could also leave on loan.

20:04Joe Anderson, a candidate to leave as well.

20:06There's conversations ongoing about Alan Brown.

20:09Who else have we got?

20:11Abdullah Barr.

20:13Yeah, has Jermattetti gone yet?

20:16I'm going to say he hasn't, and we should know this, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't.

20:20I think Mattetti is still kicking about.

20:22Don't think you've gone yet.

20:23Yeah, might be wrong on that.

20:24Somebody can let us know.

20:25Milan, Aleksic as well.

20:27Possible loan deal.

20:29Yeah.

20:30Yeah, I just interject on Aleksic.

20:35I think with him, especially now that Sunderland are sort of out of the cup competitions,

20:40it's almost like a send him out on loan or let him continue in the under-21s.

20:45And I think it's going to be really interesting to see what they do there,

20:47because, again, a player with real quality, I think it's better to say.

20:51We saw the assist last night.

20:52You know, he has obvious potential.

20:56It's just going to be a case of where Sunderland feel it is best for him to develop.

20:59Do they want him in-house, close to home, you know, sort of getting the grips of what it takes

21:06to be part of Sunderland's setup, or do you send him out and try and bring him on in a more senior sense?

21:11So I think Aleksic in particular is one that I'm really intrigued by over these coming days.

21:17Yeah, I think so.

21:18And I think you've got to also weigh up, you know, he's a young lad in a new country, isn't he?

21:22So there's a period of settling in.

21:24You've got to do what's right for the player in all of these deals, really.

21:29So, obviously, Hamid has gone.

21:31Harrison Jones, we spoke about a potential loan for him.

21:35Naz Brusson, he needs to go for the good of his career, I would suggest.

21:40He's just not going to play.

21:41Ahmed Abdullahi, probably going to go on loan, isn't he, if Sunderland can find a suitor.

21:48And then there's Jan Pevera as well, who's still at the club.

21:51So, I mean, how many names have we mentioned now, about seven or eight?

21:55So there's still a fair bit to do.

21:56And it feels like a lot of these will go late, especially the outgoings, doesn't it?

22:00It feels like when Sunderland were in the Championship and it got to deadline day,

22:05we were waiting for Premier League clubs to make their moves and sign their players so their French players could go out on loan.

22:12So now the roles have shifted a little bit, haven't they?

22:14And we need to sign our players and then, you know, Championship and League 1 clubs will come in and swoop in on deadline days.

22:21They get a bit more desperate.

22:23But, I mean, yeah, a lot of work to do and I suspect it's going to be a busy end of the window, definitely in terms of outgoings.

22:28I'm not really sure how many Sunderland will manage to sign coming in, but outgoings could be very interesting.

22:35Yeah, definitely.

22:37And one name we haven't mentioned, but I think one maybe, maybe to keep an eye on is Triog and Siwi as well,

22:43because at what point do you decide that he is deserving of a shot in the senior game?

22:47I mean, he started this season at an absolute canter.

22:51He was fantastic last season.

22:52Obviously, he got that brief cameo of the first team debut against Storch in the FA Cup,

22:56but he's just gone from strength to strength.

22:58Obviously, a little bit of a setback towards the back end of last season with an injury of his own.

23:04But you suspect that if Sunderland do decide that he's maybe at a stage in his career where he can try his looking first in football,

23:12there's going to be a few clubs queuing up in League 2, perhaps even League 1, to try and nab him.

23:19Because, I mean, he looks like such a talent, doesn't he?

23:22Yeah, I really like watching Triog and Siwi.

23:24Him and Tommy Watson have been the standards for me over the past sort of two years following the under-21s in an attacking sense that they've both been absolutely brilliant.

23:35I'm told he's got EFL interest and I'm told he's got interest in Scotland as well.

23:39I spoke to Graeme Murdy about him after he scored a hat-trick against Tottenham last week.

23:45And he was very open, I think, to the possibility of him going out on loan,

23:50but was obviously very open to the possibility of continuing to work with him as well.

23:54Because Sunderland's environment is a good one and you can learn, I think, Murdy's line was that there's loads of interest in him.

24:02So, I think if Sunderland want him to go out on loan and they can find the best place for him,

24:06I definitely think that's something that can happen.

24:09Possibly significant that he wasn't involved in anywhere last night.

24:13I don't know if that signals that something could be close.

24:17The other scenario would be he just wasn't selected or maybe he's picked up a knock.

24:20But I haven't heard anything about that.

24:22Sunderland, under-21s, do play again on Friday against West Ham at Hetton.

24:28So, if he's not involved then, obviously, we'll get some answers from Murdy.

24:33But I would suggest he might be heading out on loan.

24:37But I think it's definitely one to watch.

24:39But, again, with Sunderland, they don't have to brush and do anything with that.

24:42They can find the best place.

24:44A little bit like Matty Young, in a sense, really, that there's offers left, right and centre.

24:47And it gives you the opportunity to say, actually, this is the right style.

24:52This is the right club.

24:54It's the right environment, which is, as we know, hugely important for youth development.

25:00And in terms of incomings, I mean, key positions, you would imagine, well, centre-back does appear to be one, doesn't it?

25:07Obviously, the John McHughie saga drags on and on and it's threatening to get a little bit legal,

25:13depending on which reports you're reading in Italy and all sorts of whisperings as to how that deal may or may not happen.

25:21I mean, it feels like Sunderland probably do need another top-tier centre-back, doesn't it?

25:25Yeah, definitely.

25:28I think it would really help matters.

25:31Obviously, as I mentioned earlier in the podcast, the two lads that played centre-back last night prefer to play at full-back.

25:37And when we spoke to Nordi Mugulele, he said he prefers playing right-back.

25:43He'll play at centre-back, absolutely no bother.

25:45But, yeah, he does prefer playing right-back.

25:47So, yeah, I mean, the Lucimi one, you know, it's anybody's guess, isn't it, if that gets done or not?

25:54What I would say is Bologna seemed to be really digging the heels in.

25:58And, again, it feels like shades of the Alexander-Amendi situation, doesn't it, with the amount of noise.

26:04Not quite as much noise from agents, but there's still been a little bit of noise from agents.

26:09So he's trying to push that through, although he did play against Roma at the weekend, didn't he?

26:14And he actually had a howler for that goal.

26:16So that possibly suggests his head's not quite right.

26:20But, yeah, I wonder if, in the next couple of days, if that doesn't look like happening,

26:27that Sunderland will have to try and move on to somebody else.

26:31It feels like it can't be Lucimi or Buss, doesn't it?

26:33It feels like we do need another centre-back.

26:36And there have been other names linked as well.

26:38Sunderland will have a list of targets.

26:40But, yeah, that's definitely what we want to keep watching.

26:44And it will be interesting to see, actually, what his camp do as we get closer to the deadline.

26:50Because, you know, it is getting very, very close now.

26:55That's the approach.

26:56Yeah, it's a loom and large, isn't it?

26:58And I suppose, in terms of other positions, another winger, perhaps.

27:02That feels like the sort of natural one.

27:04Like, obviously, there have been a few names mentioned.

27:10And especially when you consider that the Armand-Loriente deal fell through earlier in the summer.

27:15And Sunderland haven't necessarily then remedied that by bringing in another player of that ilk,

27:20that sort of, you know, particular profile.

27:22I mean, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see them go and try and sign one over the coming days with it.

27:28No, it wouldn't.

27:30I wonder if that's a deal they may try and do on loan.

27:34Because they've only got Guido in at the moment, haven't they, on loan.

27:36So, I wonder if there's somebody kicking around from a top-level Premier League club on a potential loan to buy.

27:42Or maybe somebody in Europe.

27:44I'm not sure.

27:45It seems to have gone a little bit more quiet.

27:47Yeah, I mean, you've been across the transfer and stuff the past couple of days.

27:50But who are the names being linked, Jason?

27:52Because I haven't seen too many forwards linked at the moment.

27:57There was a lad from Leicester, but that piece to have gone quiet, doesn't it?

28:01Yeah, the El Canoes stuff, I think, is almost taken as read that Sunderland aren't necessarily, you know, prominent in that race anymore.

28:10And what is interesting there as well is that, by all accounts, Palace were the team who were looking at him as a sort of Ezea replacement.

28:18And that might not necessarily be happening either.

28:21So, I think there's a version of events.

28:22I'm not saying this will definitely happen, but I think there's a version of events in which Bilal El Canoes ultimately ends up staying in the Championship for at least the next few months until we hit January.

28:32And just on that, I think he'll cause absolute carnage in the Championship because he's a wonderful player, you know.

28:37So, I want to keep an eye on.

28:39I think an interesting name, one that sort of popped up earlier this week, back in the last seat, is Dylan Backwer, who's obviously on the books at Strasbourg at the moment.

28:52By all accounts, Nottingham Forrester are going hammer and tong to sign him, but Sunderland have been mentioned.

28:58And, you know, it's not out of the realms of possibility that Sunderland step up their interest in a player like that.

29:05You know, we saw it, haven't we, with the likes of Habib Diara, who, by the way, was a teammate of Backwer last season, where it looked for all the world as if he was maybe going to be heading to a Leeds or something.

29:16Sunderland actually found up their interest and went, OK, let's have a proper crack at this and let's see what we can do.

29:20So, while I'm not necessarily saying that it will be Backwer who they go and pursue in that manner, I think that there are a few names that have perhaps been mentioned in quite a sort of hazy, vague sense at the present moment in time that at any moment in time could potentially become more serious.

29:38But I think, broadly speaking, it wouldn't shock me if we saw Sunderland really put the wheels in motion and try and bring in another winger, whether that's permanent, whether that's on loan, over the coming days.

29:51I still think as well, Jason, that there's, I get the impression there's a bit of money still to be spent as well, that there's the potential for a couple of big deals, as I say, whether those big deals fall over the place and happen or not, I don't know.

30:05But speaking to obviously Kieran Maguire and reading stuff from Chris Weatherspoon from The Athletic, in terms of PSR, Sunderland have a fair bit of wiggle room when you consider the sales of Tommy Watson and Joe Bellingham.

30:21A lot of these deals are amortised as well over long contracts.

30:24So if Sunderland want to spend, I think they can.

30:28And I think that would be interesting coming into the final throes of the window because, I mean, we were on such a high after the West Ham game, weren't we?

30:38But we've learned since then that they are pouring in disarray and that perhaps Sunderland do need a little bit more.

30:45And they've spent all this money already to get to a point where they're going to be at least competing.

30:50And why not sort of push the ball out a little bit more to sort of firm up your chances, if that makes sense?

30:58Yeah, yeah.

30:59And if, and obviously it is an if, but if that money is spent, I think you're absolutely right.

31:04It would almost be a little bit illogical to not try and find the last piece of the jigsaw, so to speak.

31:12You know, and that's why I think the backward deal, I mentioned the backward deal as an example,

31:16because, you know, Strasbourg is said to be looking at around the sort of £30 million mark.

31:21That'd be a huge outlet for Sunderland.

31:23But if there is the money in the bank, could they look at a player of that sort of ilk and that sort of valuation?

31:31Not necessarily him, but someone around that, you know what I mean?

31:35And I think that would be, it will be interesting.

31:37Obviously, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of uncertainty at the moment.

31:40And I think that's just the nature of the back end of the transfer window, isn't it?

31:43When there's so many moving parts.

31:45But I think that certainly over the coming days, for me, it would make more sense if some of them were looking at A, a top level centre back,

31:54B, a winger or a sort of general attacking player who can really make a difference in the final third.

31:59And give them a little bit of variety and some more options.

32:03Because, again, we got to a point on Saturday where we saw Enzo Lafayre, central creative player, popping up on the left wing.

32:10And I know Libris likes him there.

32:11I know there's a reason why he's done that.

32:13But you sort of suspect that with another winger available, maybe Libris wouldn't necessarily feel the need to fall back into that pattern as much as he has been.

32:24Yeah, and Mundell to come back as well, hopefully at some point, which would add a lot of talent and a lot of competition.

32:31But, yeah, I think, as you say, those are the two priorities for me.

32:35We need another centre back.

32:36Because I actually think, like, the work done in that defensive line so far this season is relatively good.

32:42It just needs that sort of one little missing piece.

32:44What do you consider, actually, as well as Adji Alisi still at the club, Luke O'Nine at the club, to come back in and provide support?

32:50And then you've got all of the lads that were signed.

32:53So, yeah, it's just missing those last two little pieces.

32:57But we always say that when it gets to a transfer window or a transfer deadline day, don't we?

33:02There's always something that you think you can improve within your squad.

33:06There's never – I can't remember a time in which I've turned around and went, oh, well, that's a complete squad.

33:11It just never, ever feels like that way, does it?