Sunderland are still looking to make a number of additions in the closing stages of the transfer window

Régis Le Bris hopes that Sunderland's eye-catching capture of midfielder Granit Xhaka could help persuade other key targets to choose a move to Wearside this summer.

Xhaka made his debut against Real Betis and wore the captain's armband, something that Le Bris confirmed is likely to continue through the Premier League season. It has been an ambitious transfer window so far and Xhaka's surprise arrival from Bayer Leverkusen raised eyebrows across the world of football.

Le Bris says it was a statement of intent for the club to sign the 32-year-old and that he hopes it could yet have something of a domino effect. Sunderland still need to sign at least one centre back and a winger, while a season-long deal for Chelsea youngster Marc Guiu is now very close.

"It means something about Sunderland, the new owner and the sporting direction, the whole project," Le Bris said.

"To be attractive like that is really important for us and for the club, it's an important signature because it is going to massively help the squad.

"We hope it can help us. It means something when a player like Granit comes in, it shows he trusts our process and our project. I hope for the two, three four players that we have to add to our squad, they will see and understand that we are really ambitious and that we want to be a competitive team for next season."

What has already impressed Régis Le Bris about Granit Xhaka

Xhaka has already made a positive impression on Le Bris during his first week at the club, with the Sunderland head coach pleased with his willingness to learn as he adapts to playing in a new team. Le Bris believes his experience could be vital for the numerous Sunderland players in the squad set to play at Premier League level for the first time.

"For me, it's really easy to speak with him because he understands everything but he is really humble which for me is not a surprise but it always good to see at the best level a player still wants to learn and get better," Le Bris said.

"His behaviour so far has been very impressive. We need maturity, level, consistency, experience - he brings everything. You can feel that for the others around him, it makes their life easier. For the Premier League it really helps to have two, three lads like that. He will probably be captain, yes."

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