Sunderland boss reveals when he expects in-demand Bryan Oviedo to return

Jack Ross expects in-demand Bryan Oviedo to return to training on Monday.
Bryan Oviedo.Bryan Oviedo.
Bryan Oviedo.

But it remains to be seen how long the left-back will remain at the club, with the defender expected to leave this summer as Sunderland move to get the high earners off the wage bill.

Oviedo is one of four high earners to express a desire to leave the League One side.

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Club Brugge have expressed an interest in him but owner Stewart Donald revealed earlier this week that he didn’t think they would have the necessary funds to seal a deal.

There has been further interest from clubs in Germany and France but as things stand Oviedo remains a Sunderland player.

Lamine Kone, Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong all want to leave the club, with Ndong and Djilobodji failing to return to pre-season training and as such the club has stopped paying their wages.

Oviedo was given an extended break due to his World Cup exertions with Costa Rica.

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He is due back on Wearside at the club’s Academy of Light base next week.

Ross said: “At the moment I expect him to come back. He’s due back on Monday.

“We’ve gave him a little bit of extra time off which I think was fair enough because he had a long summer in terms of prep and then the World Cup itself.

“I’m expecting him to be back.”

Speaking to the Roker Report podcast, Donald admitted he didn’t expect to see the wantaway quartet play for the club again.

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On Oviedo, he said: “There’s been an increase in interest in Oviedo. Brugges expressed an interest, but I don’t think they can afford him.

“There’s a German club and a French club who have shown an interest now.”

Kone did return to pre-season training but is training away from the first team. The squad has overseen a major overhaul during the off season but there is still further work to do around outgoings.