Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has had his position questioned in recent days after suggestions that he could be replaced at the end of the season.
Football FanCast reports that Thomas Frank is one of the managers who is being looked at in case the club do decide to make a change in the dugout at the Stadium of Light.
Speculation over his future on Wearside may only increase after the nature of the last two defeats in the Premier League, conceding nine goals to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
The 5-0 defeat to Forest in front of their own fans at the Stadium of Light was particularly poor, as they were 4-0 down before the break, and recent performances could create some doubt over his future.
However, Sunderland should hold fire and keep the French head coach in the dugout for the summer transfer window and the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
Why Sunderland must not sack Regis Le Bris
Le Bris should not be sacked by Sunderland because he has done a phenomenal job on Wearside and deserves the chance to turn things around next season.
He has taken the club from midtable in the Championship to surviving in the Premier League, on course to finish higher than the two teams who finished above them in the second tier, and recent results should not erase those achievements.
In fact, it has only been two matches since the Black Cats won two successive matches in the top-flight, beating Newcastle United 2-1 in the derby and beating Spurs 1-0.
Le Bris should also be given another summer transfer window to retool the squad to kick on again next season because a few of this season’s signings have not lived up to the hype.
When Sunderland were last relegated from the top-flight in the 2016/17 campaign, poor recruitment caused the club’s downfall. Didier Ndong joined for a club-record fee of £13.6m and he struggled in the middle of the park during their relegation season.
Sunderland have found their worst signing since Didier Ndong
In the 2016/17 Premier League season, the Gabon international scored one goal, failed to provide any assists, and lost 51% of his duels in midfield for the Black Cats.
The midfield flop then played 18 times in the Championship the following year before signing on loan for Watford and eventually being released in the summer of 2018.
Now, Habib Diarra is in danger of following the same path as Ndong because his performances have not befitted the fee that the club paid for him last summer.
|
25/26 PL |
Habib Diarra |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
17 |
|
xG |
3.14 |
|
Goals |
2 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.3 |
|
Tackles per game |
0.8 |
|
Duel success rate |
47% |
Sunderland paid a club-record fee of £27m to sign the central midfielder from Strasbourg and he has not offered much to the team in or out of possession in the middle of the park.
He has underperformed his xG, created just five chances in 17 matches, and averages less than one tackle a game. On top of that, he has lost the majority of his physical battles in the Premier League.
Just like Ndong in the 2016/17 campaign, Diarra has struggled to deal with the physicality of the English top-flight, and has not made up for that with outstanding contributions at the other end of the pitch.
Journalist and Sunderland fan Josh Bunting recently said that the midfielder is “forcing the issue too much” and that he should be dropped from the team because he is “clearly struggling for form” for the Black Cats.
It is hard to disagree with that assessment after the club conceded eight goals in his 155 minutes on the pitch against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in the last two games, whilst he only made one tackle in that time.
Diarra’s career at the Stadium of Light is far from over and there is no need to panic just yet, but next season will be big for his development because the central midfielder needs to show that he has learned from this year’s experiences.
If the Senegal international continues to struggle and look out of place physically and technically in the Premier League for Le Bris, then the club-record signing may be remembered as poorly as Ndong.
His struggles are also another reason why Le Bris should be given more time in the summer to bolster his squad, to provide more competition and add more quality in that area of the pitch.
Exclusive: Sunderland considering sacking Regis Le Bris for 52 year-old manager
The Black Cats were demolished at home by Nottingham Forest on Friday.
