Chemsdine Talbi will not be leaving Sunderland this month and scored the only goal of a 1-0 EFL Cup win against Hull City on Tuesday to kickstart his season.
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Talbi sets aside Saudi speculation to send Sunderland through in EFL Cup
Sunderland were relieved to be able to call on winger Chemsdine Talbi as he settled an EFL Cup third-round tie against Hull City.
Talbi was a key figure in Sunderland's successful 2025-26 campaign, appearing in 30 matches and scoring four goals, including one in a Tyne-Wear derby win over Newcastle United.
But the winger has scarcely been used at the start of the new season and was left out of Sunderland's Europa League squad amid reports of a potential transfer to a club in the Saudi Pro League.
That move will not happen, however, as director of football Florent Ghisolfi confirmed prior to the cup clash with Hull, in quotes reported by the Sunderland Echo, that Talbi "had interest" but "will stay with us".
Sunderland were grateful to still have the Morocco international to call on, too, as he marked his first start of the season with a brilliant breakaway goal to decide the third-round tie.
Talbi was one of 11 changes, with manager Regis Le Bris enthused by the depth of his squad after the win.
"These guys showed today that they are competitive," Le Bris said. "We played with 11 new players, which means that we have 11 others from the game against Brentford.
"So we have 22 at the minute, and with that, we can play every competition. With injuries, we'll see, but at the minute, we're happy to go forward."
