Sunderland have made a strong start to the campaign and Omar Alderete’s contributions have been key

Régis Le Bris has praised Omar Alderete's contribution to Sunderland so far this season, underlining not only his defensive attributes but also his temperament.

Alderete scored the winning goal as Sunderland won their third game of the Premier League season at Nottingham Forest last weekend, and has made a big impact since joining from La Liga side Getafe. Le Bris believes he has a good blend of defenders in his backline at the moment, but also a good blend of personalities.

"He is a strong defender," Le Bris said.

"He's really calm, confident. We have different personalities in the squad and the balance is really positive. The balance in the backline as well is really positive."

Le Bris was also handed a welcome defensive boost at the City Ground, with Luke O'Nien fit to take a place in the squad for the first time since suffering a dislocated shoulder in the play-off final win over Sheffield United. O'Nien will give Le Bris another valuable defensive option but the head coach says his return will also have a big impact behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light.

"We need the full squad," Le Bris said.

"We lost Reinildo for three games, Habib for two months I think, so Luke is an important player for the squad and group. He always trains properly. His standards are really high, so he'll help the squad."

Sunderland's strong start means they have begun to buck the trend of promoted teams struggling to win points in the Premier League, but the Sunderland head coach insists no one will be getting carried away.

"To be competitive in this league we have to break something, otherwise the same trend continues and we know the outcome," Le Bris said.

"We'll take it game by game and keep trying our best. Sometimes it's possible to win, and we'll do it, but sometimes it's not because the opponent is too strong."

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Manchester United team news update ahead of Sunderland clash

Amad is set to face his Sunderland this weekend after Manchester United confirmed that he has now returned to training.

The former Sunderland loanee was absent as Ruben Amorim's side fell to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford last weekend, with the head coach confirming in his pre-match press conference that the 23-year-old had been given compassionate leave due to a bereavement in his family. In a statement on Wednesday, the club confirmed that he was now back in training and is as such expected to be available for this weekend's game at Old Trafford.

He will be joined in the squad by experienced midfielder Casemiro, who is available again after serving a one-match suspension for picking up a red card in the 2-1 win over Chelsea a week previous. Full back Tyrell Malacia has also returned to senior training this week, and could be in contention to make his first appearance of the campaign. Malacia was not part of the senior group in pre season having been expected to depart the club in the summer transfer window, but is now under consideration for selection by Amorim. As expected, Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez are not in full training. Mazraoui is expected to be absent until after the international break while Martinez is recovering from a long-term knee injury.

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