Sunderland went through a busy summer of squad changes following promotion to the Premier League

Régis Le Bris says Sunderland are still establishing their leadership group after a summer of major squad turnover, but has emphasised the importance of Granit Xhaka and Luke O'Nien.

Sunderland established a leadership group at the start of last season as they went on to seal promotion back to the Premier League, with Dan Neil appointed team captain. Luke O'Nien remained club captain while Trai Hume, Dan Ballard, Jobe Bellingham and Alan Browne were also given leadership responsibilities. One year, few of that six are either currently at the club or playing on a weekly basis, and so Le Bris says the club will let the new look squad settle before formally appointing a new group.

Xhaka has been wearing the armband since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen and is a big voice in the dressing room, but Le Bris says that O'Nien remains a crucial figure behind the scenes. Having been absent with a shoulder injury since the play-off final against Sheffield United, the 30-year-old has returned to the squad for the last two Premier League fixtures.

"Because now we have a new squad and we are still in the first part of our journey, so it's a bit early to decide how we'll create this leadership group," Le Bris said.

"It comes from everyone in the squad first of all. After that, Granit is the captain on the pitch, Luke is the club captain because of his history in the club and his behaviour on a daily basis. After that, you have multiple important players. At the minute we don't need to create a specific group, we know we have these two players and they are really well connected with the group and the club."

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Le Bris: Xhaka's impact at Sunderland has been even greater than I anticipated

Régis Le Bris says Granit Xhaka's impact at the club has been even greater than he anticipated and praised Kyril Louis-Dreyfus for his role in getting the deal over the line.

Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford last Saturday but have otherwise made a very impressive start to the Premier League campaign, taking eleven points from their first seven games. Xhaka has been a vital part of that, registering three assists which all played key roles to positive results for the Black Cats.

The experienced midfielder also took the captain's armband following his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, and Le Bris says he has been vital in the way he has driven up standards by example behind the scenes.

The Sunderland head played his part in convincing the 33-year-old to join but believes such an ambitious deal might have been beyond the club without the input of Louis-Dreyfus, who sold Xhaka on his vision for the club and his role within it.

"In the process everyone is important," Le Bris said.

"The manager is important, we spoke about the game model and the way we want to play, our ambition and togetherness, so I had my role. Flo and Kristjaan have their role. And I think Kyril was really, really important in that process. Kyril was really involved, probably more than many owners in that process. Everyone had their own strengths and own role and in the end we succeeded.

"He was really important because for us it wasn't a normal signing. It was something totally different and his involvement was crucial and massive. Granit's impact has been even more than expected, to be fair. Now we've experienced as a manager, coaching staff and teammates the way he behaves every day. His level is really impressive."

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