Sunderland manager's honest verdict on £2m Leeds United exit's future ahead of possible Whites reunion
Leo Hjelde has found football hard to come by since leaving Leeds United for Sunderland in January.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris insists chances will come for Leo Hjelde despite a lack of regular football since leaving Leeds United earlier this year.
Hjelde swapped Leeds for Sunderland in January after the agreement of a fee believed to be around £2million, with the defender out of favour under Daniel Farke and in need of regular minutes. But impressive early performances quickly gave way to fitness issues and he didn’t feature in any of his side’s final five games.
A strong pre-season under his new boss brought renewed hope but despite now being fully fit, Hjelde is yet to play a single league minute for the Black Cats. Former side Leeds are due at the Stadium of Light on Friday evening and Le Bris has encouraged his out-of-favour defender to keep pushing.
"He's very close to the team and he will have opportunities for sure," Le Bris told The Northern Echo. "He's a good player, he has a good mentality, he is still very connected with the team. We need this kind of player. 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.
"It's still important to talk and take care of every player. The core, who are very involved, it's easy for them because we have a lot of feedback and meetings, so it's very easy to connect with them. 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."
The upcoming week might offer Hjelde his chance, with Sunderland and all other Championship teams in midweek league action for the first time this season. They and Leeds are managing a particularly tight schedule with the pair meeting at the Stadium of Light on Friday evening - a third game in six days for both.
Before that, Sunderland host Derby County on Tuesday evening while Leeds face Norwich City at Carrow Road. It is likely both will be in and around the top-two places come Friday’s clash.