'No sign of him' – Colombian media are baffled by Ian Poveda's disappearance at Sunderland this season

Questions are growing in Colombia over the future of Sunderland winger Ian Poveda, with AS describing the 25-year-old’s situation at the Stadium of Light as a “mystery that remains unanswered.”

Poveda has yet to make a senior appearance for Régis Le Bris’ side this season, featuring only twice for the club’s Under-21s, where he last scored a brace in a 3–2 win over Southampton U21s in August. Sunderland have posted little about the player since, fuelling speculation that he could be on his way out in January.

Le Bris told Poveda earlier in the campaign that he was not part of his core plans and advised him to find a new club before the summer window closed. However, a move failed to materialise, leaving the Colombian international in limbo. The outlet now reports there has been “no sign of the player” around the first-team setup in recent weeks.

Poveda signed a three-year contract with Sunderland in July 2024 following his release from Leeds United, but has so far made only eight senior appearances for the Black Cats, totalling just 185 minutes of football. The winger’s career has taken him across some of Europe’s top academies – including Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City – before joining Leeds in 2020 and later spending loan spells with Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite his technical ability and experience, Poveda now faces an uncertain future on Wearside. AS reports that the club could be open to letting him leave in January, with the player still under contract until 2027. His situation has drawn concern in Colombia, where his absence from senior action is being closely watched.

Speaking to The Echo earlier this season, Sunderland U21 coach Graeme Murty said of Poveda: “You can see the talent, you can see he’s got some magic in his feet, and he’s a nightmare in training because he’s so elusive and he’s so jinky, but he works extremely hard. As we’ve always said, we’re a willing vehicle for players who need to remain sharp, who show the right attitude and who want to come and help the young players, and I thought that he was a help to our young players.”

The U21s lead coach highlighted the benefit Poveda brings to Sunderland’s emerging talent, with a number of teenagers involved against Spurs. “Let’s face it, we’ve got Finn Holcroft, we’ve got Archie Lightfoot, we’ve got Felix Scott, we’ve got Charlie Dinsdale, all under-18s coming onto that environment and trying to play and he’s been nothing but supportive so we thank him for that and we show our players, he’s the level, we need to challenge you to be better than what you’re seeing.”

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Murty added that having first-team players drop down to the U21s reinforces the standards required at Premier League level. “It’s really good for us that we get so much support from our first team players that our players can understand they’re not completing their journey yet, they’ve still got steps to make, they’ve still got improvements to make. We keep on emphasising it but it’s really good that we’ve got a really tangible link to the first team that can reinforce that message.”

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