Sunderland winger Jewison Bennette is in talks to leave the club.

The hype was real, until it wasn’t. When Jewison Bennette first signed for Sunderland, it felt as if he had the potential to be yet another in a long line of prodigious young talents plucked from the depths of some database or other for pennies and transformed into a world-beater in waiting.

Instead, as we hurtle towards the 550-day mark since he last featured in a league match for the Black Cats, Bennette finds himself on the brink of an inauspicious exit to the Ukrainian top flight, with no concrete indication that he will ever pull on a red and white shirt again.

In the beginning, the early signs were promising. Snapped up on a four-year deal from Herediano in his native Costa Rica back in 2022, the winger arrived on Wearside as a fresh-faced teenager and promptly registered two goals and an assist across 18 outings in his first season in England. There were teething problems, of course, the kind you would fully expect a boy moving halfway across the planet to encounter, but for the most part, Bennette looked every inch another vindication of Kristjaan Speakman’s oft-heralded recruitment model.

And then, somewhere along the line, things went awry. Last season, as Sunderland lurched from apathetic lull to apathetic lull, the starlet was afforded just one outing in the Championship - a bizarre, near-mythical cameo against Southampton during which he executed three increasingly chaotic pirouettes, launched a deep cross straight onto the waiting forehead of Chris Rigg, and then, to all intents and purposes, vanished.

What has followed since has, from an outside perspective at least, felt like a series of ever-diminishing returns. First there was the ill-fated loan stint in Greece, then came a summer transfer window in which nothing much happened for the youngster at all. In January, a last gasp switch to Charlton Athletic fell through at the eleventh hour, but other than that - and a tokenistic nine-minute outing in the Carabao Cup - Bennette has been predominantly consigned to the occasional appearance for Graeme Murty’s U21s.

Now, however, he looks set to seal an escape to the unlikeliest of destinations. Recent reports have suggested that Ukrainian outfit FC LNZ Cherkasy are closing in on a deal for the Costa Rican, and in a press conference on Thursday, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris confirmed the news.

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When asked if Bennette was in talks to leave, Le Bris said: “Yes, but I don't know exactly what stage the deal is at. He needs to play.” To that end, the Black Cats boss is absolutely correct.

The question over whether Sunderland are making the right decision by allowing Bennette to depart really hinges on two things; do the club need him, and does he need a new challenge? In that sense, it is no question at all. At this stage, it is patently obvious that the attacker has no place in Le Bris’ plans, and while, as a 20-year-old, he still has time on his side, there has to come a point at which both parties are willing to cut their losses.

Which brings us to Bennette himself. Evidently, he is a talent. Frequently, when he is asked to lace up his boots for the U21s he is one of the brightest sparks on any given pitch; his attitude is exemplary, his application is faultless, and he sizzles with the electricity of a player who deserves more than the challenge that youth football provides for him. Then again, should we be surprised? This is a player who has already featured at a World Cup, who has 15 senior caps to his name besides.

But he is also a player who is swiftly approaching a vital juncture in his career and his development. At a certain point, if he is not careful, he will cross the threshold between precocious upstart and unrealised potential, and the best remedy to ensure that doesn’t happen is for him to get out there and play senior football in one form or another.

With that in mind, by allowing Bennette to explore the option of an exit, Sunderland are undoubtedly doing the right thing. Even if it doesn’t benefit the Black Cats in the long run, a move away is unquestionably a wise next step in the forward’s career. For his sake, here’s hoping it happens.

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