Regis Le Bris has confirmed that Alan Browne will be the replacement for Jobe Bellingham when Sunderland play Preston North End.
The former Deepdale man joined The Black Cats this summer but has only started in four of his 10 appearances due to the pairing of Bellingham and Chris Rigg proving so fruitful in the club’s early season form.
Irishman Handed Second Straight Start
The former Birmingham City midfielder was sent off in the game against Queens Park Rangers for a heavy challenge on Zan Celar and looks poised to be given an extended ban for the incident. Browne was also present from the start of the game due to Rigg being affected by a chest issue and as Le Bris confirmed to the Sunderland Echo, the 29-year-old will be handed a second straight start for the first time this season.
“He will play and he deserves to play obviously because he’s a great professional and with good experience, good leadership, quiet leadership but strong leadership is very interesting.”
“Obviously our midfielders played very well since the beginning of the season and for Brownie he needed to wait but he knows that that league is so long that he was sure that he’ll have opportunities to play so it’s now and he did well so I’m confident for him.”
Browne was a free transfer signing for Sunderland this summer after rejecting a new three-year deal in Lancashire, ending his time at Deepdale after 414 appearances and 46 goals.
Writer’s View
Alan Browne has been a constant in the Championship across his time at Preston North End so Sunderland have a brilliant backup choice to their star pairing of Bellingham and Rigg. He would be better than anyone in knowing what to expect when going to Deepdale and he is the most useful asset Regis Le Bris could ask for in this game. With Jobe’s suspension looking like it may last for longer than expected, this run gives the Irishman plenty of opportunity to stake a claim to a regular place in attacking midfield when the first-choice options return.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
