Sunderland’s Timothée Pembélé completed a loan move to Le Havre AC towards the end of the summer window.

The defender arrived at the Stadium of Light from Paris Saint-Germain in September 2023 and struggled for regular game time last season.

Paris Normandie cover comments made by the Sunderland man, who says he was hoping to join a second division club in France to regain his level.

The right-back has now revealed he was thrilled when the Ligue 1 side made an approach and was subsequently determined to leave Sunderland.

“I really didn’t think that HAC would come looking for me! I was in second division in England, I wasn’t playing, and I thought I’d go back to Ligue 2,” he said.

“I have confidence in myself, I know I have the ability to play in Ligue 1, but in today’s football, when a player doesn’t play, he’s quickly forgotten.

“When my agent told me that Le Havre were interested in me, I said straight out, ‘Let’s go! I didn’t look to see where I stood in the pecking order, I just said to myself, I’m going, I’m fighting, and we’ll see what happens!”

The Frenchman’s limited minutes at the Championship side last season had made it more difficult for him to adapt at Le Havre. Their manager, Didier Digard, initially made him to train with reserves and this has certainly helped the Sunderland owned player.

Pembélé has clocked in 586 minutes from seven games for Le Havre so far and is set to enjoy regular minutes with them this season.

“In the end, it took a bit of time. I signed in the last few days of the window, and the coach gave me a warm welcome, telling me that I needed to get my rhythm back,” Pembélé explained.

“So, I played one match with the reserves. In England, I played quite a few games with the reserves, and I was fed up with playing with younger players. But the coach explained to me that I had to play 90 minutes to get into a rhythm. After that, it was one thing after another.”

Pembélé’s contract at Sunderland lasts until 2028, but he’ll have to make a decision on his future after his loan deal at Le Havre expires at the end of this season.

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