RECOGS Despite the fact that the defender hasn’t played a single minute of Championship football for the Black Cats this season, Leo Hjelde is still a part of Le Bris’ plans for Sunderland.

Hjelde, who moved from Leeds United to Sunderland in January, had a strong preseason but has struggled to make an impact this season. His lone game this season was the Carabao Cup first round loss to Preston.

Hjelde, 21, can also play left-back, but Le Bris is well-stocked at center-half, with Luke O’Nien, Dan Ballard, Aji Alese, and Chris Mepham all ahead of him in the hierarchy.

Le Bris maintains that Hjelde still has a future on Wearside despite the challenge he faces breaking into the squad, saying he is really impressed with the defender’s mindset and style.

The head coach of Sunderland stated, “He’s very close to the team and he will have opportunities for sure.”

“He is still very connected to the team, he is a good player, and he has a good mentality.” Someone like this is what we need.

“They are not really involved at the minute but they are very close to the team and I’m sure he will have an opportunity to play.”

Early in the season, Le Bris has persisted with a lineup that has been generally settled, which poses a clear issue for the head coach and his staff: how to keep those on the outskirts pleased.

“It’s still important to talk and take care of every player,” he stated.

“The highly engaged core group finds it effortless to engage with us due to our frequent feedback sessions and meetings.

“With the others, as a coach and as technical staff we need to take care of them, because we don’t have this information about the game but we can still speak with them about their improvement, the project and so on.”