Sunderland face Chelsea on Sunday afternoon after the club tried to sign Granit Xhaka in the summer transfer window

Régis Le Bris says he has no doubt about Granit Xhaka's commitment to Sunderland as he prepares to face the club who pushed so hard to sign him in the summer for the first time.

Xhaka was identified as a key target by new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso, who had worked with the midfielder and enjoyed huge success at Bayer Leverkusen. Xhaka was initially keen on exploring the move but committed to Sunderland after talks with the club hierarchy. Like many players in the Sunderland squad, Xhaka has struggled to hit the same levels on the pitch as he did last season and while the head coach says he isn't sure if the summer speculation in the summer is a part of that, he insisted Xhaka's daily standards have not changed.

Le Bris revealed the initial plan had been to take Xhaka off after an hour against Dinamo Zagreb on Sunday, but that the midfielder was determined to try and play his part in turning the game around.

“[It’s] hard to say," Le Bris said.

"It's always complex. It's one element in the equation, so I don't know, to be fair. What I know is what I see every day, the involvement of Granit, his standards, training standards, his willingness to play for Sunderland. Thursday, we planned to play 60 minutes but at half-time he told me, ‘I'll go all the way. I will help the squad.’ This is Granit.

“So after that, he is human, he will have ups and downs. You are not the same player when you are 34 that you were at 23. His game is evolving as well, but his commitment is superb, no doubt about that."

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In a twist of fate, Chelsea eventually signed former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson from Brentford having been unable to secure Xhaka's signature this summer. Henderson had been a potential option for the Black Cats following their promotion to the Premier League as they looked to add leadership and experience to their squad, but the move never progressed.

"Jordan is a great player, first of all," he said.

"For the connection with the club, it's not my part. It was with Flo and Kyril, they had conversations.

“I thought that it could have been a good signing for the club, a good symbol, a great player, a great leader. But the market is the market and I was so happy we signed Granit, who is superb."

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