Chemsdine Talbi’s Sunderland future is uncertain just 12 months after his £20.5m move, with talks ongoing over a possible exit

Sunderland’s decision to leave Chemsdine Talbi out of their Europa League squad is understood to be linked to ongoing talks over a potential move away.

Talbi was one of the most notable omissions when Sunderland confirmed their 22-man List A squad for the league phase, particularly after featuring regularly for Régis Le Bris since joining from Club Brugge last summer. The Echo understands discussions are continuing around a possible exit for the 21-year-old, and that uncertainty played a part in Sunderland’s registration decision today.

Had Talbi been included on List A and then completed a move away, Sunderland would have lost that place for the league phase rather than being able to simply replace him with another player. That created a risk for the club at a point when their Europa League allocation is already restricted by UEFA’s locally-trained player rules.

Talbi is young enough to meet the age requirement for List B, but he cannot be registered through that route because he has not been at Sunderland for the required two-year period. He therefore needed a List A place to feature in the league phase. The winger could still be registered later in the competition if Sunderland progress to the knockout rounds, when clubs are permitted to make changes to their squads.

For now, the decision leaves Talbi unavailable for Sunderland’s eight league-phase fixtures while talks continue over his immediate future. It also provides context to what appeared to be one of the selection surprises in Le Bris’ squad. Talbi joined Sunderland from Club Brugge last summer for an initial €21million (£18million), with a further €3million (£2.5million) in potential add-ons, taking the package to £20.5million on a five-year contract.

Sky Sports have since reported that Al-Ittihad are in talks with Sunderland over a move for Talbi. The Saudi Pro League transfer window remains open, meaning the Morocco international can still leave Wearside despite the English deadline having passed.