JEWISON Bennette is set to leave Sunderland, with the out of favour winger in talks over a move, Regis Le Bris has confirmed.

Reports earlier this week claimed the winger is in talks with Ukrainian club LNZ. The transfer window in Ukraine is open until March 11.

Le Bris didn't provide any details on a potential move, but did confirm Bennette's imminent Sunderland exit, with negotiations ongoing.

The 20-year-old hasn't once been named in a Championship matchday squad this season.

He looked set to join Charlton Athletic on deadline day but his move to the League One club wasn't completed in time.

But he now looks set for the exit door at the Stadium of Light. It's not clear at this stage whether it would be a permanent or loan move.

Le Bris said: "Yes [he is in talks to leave], but I don't know exactly what stage the deal is at. He needs to play."

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Meanwhile, Ahmed Abdullahi is still struggling with the groin injury that sidelined the striker in the first half of the season, Le Bris has revealed.

Sunderland's head coach says it's "not a bad issue at this stage" but the 20-year-old is not currently in contention for first team involvement.

Abdullahi joined Sunderland from Gent in the summer but is yet to feature for the first team after the Black Cats decided surgery was the best course of action to fix his groin problem.

He's returned to action for the Under-21s in recent weeks and scored a hat-trick for Graeme Murty's side against Southampton earlier this month, but he hasn't featured in the last two games.

And Le Bris yesterday revealed: "With Ahmed, he is still struggling with his previous injury so it is not yet fully solved. It is not a bad issue at this stage but he is not available."

There's better news on Jenson Seelt, who is making good progress after his long lay-off with a knee injury. He was named in the Sunderland squad for the recent game against Luton but hasn't yet made an appearance since his return.

Le Bris said: "Jenson is much closer than before, for sure. He still needs game time because after so long out, he needs time to recover his level. His body changed during his time out, he's more mature and powerful now. He just needs game time. His performances in training are really good."