Sunderland transfer news: Jan Paul van Hecke and Jewison Bennette latest as Aston Villa weigh up striker call

Van Hecke was named on the bench for the first two Premier League fixtures of the campaign, yet Brighton boss Graham Potter recently spoke about trimming his squad further before the end of the transfer window.

"We are not far away from where it should be,” Potter told Sussex Live. "What you don't want is too many players that think they should be playing to be either in the stands or on the bench for a long time, that is not so healthy. You have to expect that in the Premier League, it's the highest level of football.

"You want to try and use the guys that are pushing from the under-21s as well to give that space. If you have too many players then that doesn't happen, there's a bottleneck. I think we are okay. If anything we are probably a little bit too many, at the moment, so we are not too few."

Van Hecke, whose contract at Brighton will expire this summer, is expected to sign a new deal at the Amex Stadium before leaving on loan.

The 22-year-old made 32 appearances during a loan spell at Blackburn last season, while Rovers wanted to re-sign the player.

Villa weigh up Archer options

At the other end of the pitch, Sunderland are still looking to sign another striker this month.

The Black Cats were one of several clubs linked with a loan move for Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer earlier this summer, despite Villa boss Steven Gerrard implying the striker would stay put.

Yet according to The Athletic, Villa are considering loaning out Archer if they sign another attacker this month.

Watford were reportedly in pole position to sign Archer before the arrival of Keinan Davis on loan from Villa.

Jewison Bennette latest

Finally, Sunderland target Jewison Bennette did not play for Costa Rican side Herediano over the weekend, with journalist Kevin Jimenez reporting the player is set to travel to England.

Sunderland have been in talks over a deal for Bennette, but the 18-year-old is one of numerous targets as the window enters its final stages.

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