Sunderland will be without several key players over the festive period because they have stars heading off to the African Cup of Nations to compete for a trophy with their respective countries.
They are set to have Habib Diarra, who is still returning to fitness, for the clash with Brighton in the Premier League, before he becomes the sixth player to jet away to the tournament.
Sunderland stars going to AFCON
Player
Country
Habib Diarra
Senegal
Reinildo Mandava
Mozambique
Noah Sadiki
DR Congo
Arthur Masuaku
DR Congo
Chemsdine Talbi
Morocco
Bertrand Traore
Burkina Faso
Regis Le Bris will be without several players who started in the win over Newcastle United in the derby last time out, as Reinildo, Chemsdine Talbi, Noah Sadiki, and Bertrand Traore all started.
Why Sunderland need to replace Chemsdine Talbi
It will be a blow to the Black Cats boss to lose Talbi from his side on the left flank, because the summer signing from Club Brugge has proven to be an astute piece of business.
Sunderland paid £18m to sign the Moroccan winger from the Belgian side in the summer, and he has adapted well to life in the Premier League so far this season.
The 20-year-old talent has scored two goals and provided one assist in nine top-flight starts for the Black Cats, with his goals coming against Liverpool and Chelsea.
Talbi has also been a strong ball-carrier for the newly-promoted side, completing 64% of his attempted dribbles (Sofascore), which shows that he offers impressive technical security to go along with a threat in the final third.
This is why it is so important for Le Bris to find an effective solution to his AFCON absence, and he could find a perfect one by unleashing a rarely-seen star.
The Sunderland star who should replace Chemsdine Talbi
20-year-old attacker Eliezer Mayenda has only played eight games and started three times in the Premier League, per Sofascore, this season for the Black Cats, after his impressive exploits in the second tier.
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Despite his lack of minutes on the pitch, the versatile Spanish star did score his first top-flight goal for the club against West Ham United back in August.
This means that he has already shown that he can make an impact against a Premier League team, but the youngster has not had too many opportunities to showcase his quality, as he did in the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Mayenda, who journalist Josh Bunting described as being “so smooth” in his play, ended the Championship season with a return of eight goals and five assists in 22 starts for the club, per Sofascore, including a goal in the play-off final win over Brighton.
The Spain U21 international can play on the left flank or through the middle as a centre-forward, and it is in the former position where he could get a chance to play because of Talbi’s absence.
Whilst Mayenda usually played as a number nine for Sunderland in the Championship last season, the young forward’s underlying statistics suggest that he would suit a wide left role in the Premier League.
24/25 Championship
Mayenda
Rank vs STs
Goals
0.34
Top 38%
Shots on target
1.13
Top 20%
xA
0.15
Top 5%
Assists
0.21
Top 11%
Chances created
1.05
Top 18%
Successful dribbles
2.05
Top 3%
Touches in the opposition’s box
6.45
Top 5%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, he ranked higher among his positional peers in creative and ball-carrying metrics, which shows that he is not a typical penalty box striker.
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That also explains why Wilson Isidor and Brian Brobbey, who are more natural number nines, have been preferred to him up front in the Premier League so far this season.
Talbi’s international duty, though, presents Le Bris with an opportunity to finally unleash Mayenda as a starter in the side, but on the left flank where he can use his dribbling and creative skills to carry a threat out wide.
If he gets the chance to play against Brighton and produces a good performance, it could propel him to become a starter for a significant period of games over the festive schedule.
Sunderland set to welcome £27m star back from injury vs Brighton this weekend
A major boost for Regis Le Bris.
ByTom Cunningham
It is now down to Le Bris, though, to put Mayenda into the left wing position as an ideal solution to losing Talbi to the African Cup of Nations.