Régis Le Bris explains why he brought Chemsdine Talbi back into the Sunderland side for Chelsea win
Sunderland climbed off the foot of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland and Chemsdine Talbi have drawn a line under the summer's transfer speculation after the winger made his first Premier League start of the season in the win over Chelsea.
Talbi found himself behind Nilson Angulo and Malick Fofana earlier in the campaign, and was left of the club's initial Europa League squad due to transfer interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The Moroccan had been largely limited to opportunities in the Carabao Cup but has seen his playing time increase over recent weeks and was added to the Europa League squad after Habib Diarra suffered a significant hamstring injury in training ahead of the defeat to Coventry City.
Le Bris said he was pleased with Talbi's performance in the 1-0 win and was confident the 21-year-old could now move forward.
“With Chemsdine, we had a long conversation two or three weeks ago about the season," Le Bris said.
"We talked about how it started, but we can’t go back into the past now. Let’s move forward. We have to create the conditions for our wingers to get better.
"It’s really demanding in the Premier League – you don’t have many wingers at the top for the full season. We need to support the players, but then they have to do their job as well. If you work hard, you will have your opportunities soon.
"He came on against Leeds, at the end of the game, and had an opportunity there, and then today he had the opportunity to start and I think he did well.”
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Sunderland remain in the relegation zone despite the win but have climbed off the foot of the table heading into the international break.
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