£11.9m striker and Rangers man signs - Le Bris' dream Sunderland squad if transfer rumours are true

Sunderland have been linked with several deals in recent weeks as time ticks down in the winter transfer window....

Régis Le Bris says that Sunderland are preparing for the possibility of transfer deadline day impacting their preparations for a crucial Championship game against Middlesbrough.

The January window closes at 11pm on Monday, around an hour after Sunderland’s game at the Riverside will likely finish. The Black Cats still have some business to conclude, with their search for another forward player ongoing and a number of fringe players potentially departing to try and get more regular game time.

The Black Cats would ideally like to get all of their business done before Monday, preventing any disruption to Le Bris’s matchday squad. The Sunderland head coach says he knows this might not be possible in an ‘unpredictable’ transfer market.

"I would like this, but it is not often the case," Le Bris said. "Because the market is unpredictable. We will try our best to protect the team because we have two timelines, how we want to prepare this game to be fully engaged and at the same time, we know so that some adjustment [to the squad] could be useful for the future. We will try our best to try and manage these two timelines properly."

With that in mind">mind and for a little bit of fun, we take a look at how Le Bris’ starting XI and subs bench if the recent transfer rumours turn out to be true: