Pembele and fellow Sunderland flop nowhere to be seen – what does the future hold?
Sunderland have a lot of work to do when it comes to offloading fringe players.
All of the focus so far this summer has been on the incoming business at Sunderland, of which there has been a lot ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Granit Xhaka looks set to become the seventh arrival at the Stadium of Light, after a fee was agreed with Bayer Leverkusen for his transfer.
However, while all of this is going on at Wearside, there needs to be some focus directed to the futures of those on the fringes of the squad, including Timothee Pembele.
Sunderland must secure exits for several players
Believe it or not, Pembele is still a Sunderland player, though he appears to have been absent from the entire pre-season schedule, alongside his French compatriot Abdoullah Ba.
The duo very quickly fell out of favour when Le Bris arrived on Wearside, with the former spending the last campaign on loan at Le Havre.
| Sunderland | Club |
| Ba | Dunkerque |
| Pembele | Le Havre |
To put it straight, there is no future for either of them ahead of the Black Cats’ return to the top flight, though there will be questions as to where their future lies.
So far, there has been no interest in either player, and it may be a case of Sunderland having to secure loan moves for the duo in the coming weeks.
Sunderland need to make the most of August
August will be the last chance Sunderland have to get themselves prepared for a fight against relegation, and there is still a lot of work to do.
The Black Cats still need several more additions, and when they arrive, even more will have to be moved out of Wearside, though that will largely depend on interest elsewhere.
Alan Browne, Nectar Triantis and several youth players could depart in the next few weeks, which promises to be a busy period.
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