Sunderland boss refuses to rule out Bailey Wright exit amid transfer speculation

Defender is 'very much part of Sunderland' but exit a definite possibility with SPL clubs circling.

Author:
Michael Graham
Publish date:
Jan 20, 2023 11:52 AM EST

Tony Mowbray says Bailey Wright is ‘very much part’ of the plans at Sunderland, but he wouldn’t rule out a January move for the defender.

Wright was an important part of the Sunderland team that finally hauled themselves out of League One last year, but he has had a bit-part role this season.

The Australian has fallen behind Dan Ballard, Danny Batth, Luke O’Nien and probably Aji Alese in Sunderland pecking order and he is attracting interest from Aberdeen and Hibs.

With a defensive injury crisis to deal with at the moment, it’s unlikely a deal will be sanctioned for the time being, but Mowbray is not ruling it out for later in the window.

"I talk to all the players when I feel there are any issues around them," Mowbray said ahead of the game against Middlesbrough.

"At this moment, Bailey Wright is very much part of our setup and there's an opportunity potentially for him to start this game depending on whether a scan goes right or wrong for us this afternoon.

"It's not in my mind to think about Bailey staying or going, and I'm not sure that publicly I want to talk about people's situations. Those conversations between coaches and players are private.

"What I would say is that if everybody is fit and available in our squad, there is probably an overload of five or six central defenders."

Wright has started just six times for Sunderland in the Championship this season, and he unlikely to be satisfied with not playing at this stage of his career.

Mowbray says that has to be taken into account, but the needs of the club will always come first.

"I'm very much about the individual and what's right for them,” Mowbray said.

"If you're talking about a footballer of, say, 32 or 33 years old and when everybody is fit he finds he is not on the bench, the human side of me says 'what do you want to do - sit here and train every day, or explore other avenues?' If they want to explore other avenues then I am sympathetic to that.

"But we have to put the football club first, and the football club needs people at certain times and they won't go anywhere."

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