CIRKIN CRAIC

Regis Le Bris has spoken about Dennis Cirkin's injury and how a lack of pre-season means the left back isn't exactly a nailed on started in this new-look Sunderland side. This article also contains Krisjaan Speakman's latest Cirkin contract update, amid reports (again) that Tottenham are looking to bring the 23-year-old back to the club in January. This is a rumour that has popped up pretty much every transfer window since Cirkin joined Sunderland, so we'll take it with a pinch of salt for now.

RLB: HOW IMPORTANT WILL HE BE?

"We'll see. We've stepped up as a club, and as a player, you have to do the same. Because of the injury, it wasn't possible for him to show his qualities in pre-season. We'll see later."

KS: CIRKIN AND NEIL DEALS

"No, I wouldn't say it (the situation) is a concern. We've had similar situations in the past. It's never really been a concern for us because we're on top of the conversation. So there's no ambiguity on where it's at. It's just so difficult over the transfer window to do everything, and we've got some outstanding topics to discuss and to resolve, and they're two of them. So we'll do as we've always done. We'll continue to have those conversations and get to a consensus and a decision on it."