Chemsdine Talbi sends clear Sunderland message after transfer uncertainty

Le Bris's side were the better of the two teams in a game that lacked any real quality until Talbi's finish. The Wearsiders did show flashes of quality, but it was your typical Carabao Cup tie at the beginning of September.

Neither side was able to threaten the opposition goalkeeper regularly enough to get supporters off their seats, but you'd expect that given the number of changes both sides made for the game. It wasn't one for the history books, but Sunderland are into the next round of the Carabao Cup, which is all that matters.

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Here are Chronicle Live's key talking points from tonight's game:

Sunderland sporting director Florent Ghisolfi made it clear that Talbi would not be leaving the Black Cats in a sit-down with reporters prior to kick-off, addressing ongoing speculation about the winger's future at the Stadium of Light. The Moroccan international was a transfer target for Al-Ittihad and Turkish sides Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, but he's set to stay on Wearside.

Talbi was left out of Sunderland's Europa League squad as the club struggled to fulfil its homegrown quota, meaning both he and Melkor Ellborg missed out on a spot. Le Bris admitted a move for Talbi was still possible ahead of the weekend's draw with Brentford, but Ghisolfi has closed the door on a departure.

The 21-year-old has featured just once for Sunderland so far this season, coming off the bench during the defeat to Ipswich Town on the opening day of the season, but was an unused substitute against Fulham and left out of the squad altogether for the draw with the Bees.

Talbi started for Sunderland behind Wilson Isidor in the number ten position, with the Black Cats operating in a 4-2-3-1 - something they haven't done very often during Le Bris time at the club. His energy in that area of the pitch helped with their aggressive press, but he couldn't quite find that link-up with Isidor in the opening stages of the game.

He forced Dillon Phillips into a smart save down to the keeper's left, picking the ball up in the middle of the pitch as Sunderland countered. The Moroccan made his way into the box unchallenged, checked onto his right foot and tried to pick out the bottom corner, but the Hull City shot stopper was equal to it.

Talbi had been pretty quiet as the game wore on, but as he did on so many occasions last season, he popped up with THE moment to open the scoring. Sunderland hit the visitors on the counter, and the Moroccan showed great composure, racing through onto Meunier's through ball to chip the ball into the back of the net.

That's exactly what he can bring to this Sunderland side, and it's a major boost that he's staying.

Le Bris made 11 changes from the side that drew 1-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium at Brentford at the weekend, with Dayann Methalie, Jules Ahoka and Malick Fofana handed their full debuts. Dan Ballard, Noah Sadiki and Thomas Meunier were the only players who started the game in London to be named on the bench.

It was one of the debutants, Ahoka, who went close with the first real chance of the game. The young midfielder rose highest to head Trai Hume's corner goalbound, forcing Dillon Phillips into a good save down to his left.

The 20-year-old looked the most assured of the new arrivals once he settled into the game. The DR Congo youth international was a little timid to play through the lines, but when he did, there were promising signs.

Ahoka looked the brightest of the three debutants, with Fofana quiet inside the opening 45 minutes. When the young Belgian did get the ball, he tried to be positive, but he wasn't involved enough.

A positive outing from all three, but there's hopefully plenty more to come.

While the game may not have been a classic, these are exciting times for Sunderland. Of those who started the game, seven were under 23 and, excluding Melkor Ellborg, six were 21 or younger.

Academy graduate Chris Rigg was one of the standout performers and is still just 19 years old. The England youth international plays with a maturity well beyond his years and is effective both defensively and in the attacking third.

He still flies into tackles and gets fans off their seats in doing so. Rigg has the tenacity and bite that you can't always coach in young players.

That being said, there's also a rawness to some of the youngsters that Le Bris will relish working with. Academy prospects Tom Proctor and Timur Tutierov were rewarded for their impressive pre-season campaigns with more senior minutes, and both worked hard when they came onto the pitch.

They're both still raw, but are exciting prospects. The same can be said for Jocelin Ta Bi, who was a livewire all night long, albeit lacking that quality in the final third at this stage of his career.

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