RéGIS LE BRIS BREAKS SILENCE ON ALAN BROWNE’S FUTURE AND SQUAD DEPTH
Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris discusses Alan Browne's loan at Middlesbrough. Read Browne's honest take on his Premier League snub.
Le Bris says the Black Cats haven’t talked about Browne’s future at Sunderland yet.
Sunderland let Browne leave on loan in the summer after signing a bunch of new players. He knew chances would be slim for him in the Premier League with all the fresh faces around.
Middlesbrough jumped at the chance to bring him in. Browne’s experience and quality made him a smart pick, and he’s shown his worth—he’s played 17 out of Boro’s 25 Championship games this season as they push for promotion.
Browne still has a year and a half left on his Sunderland contract, which he signed last summer. But honestly, with the depth Le Bris has in his squad, Browne has almost definitely played his last game for Sunderland.
Right now, no one really knows if Boro will try to make the move permanent once the season ends.
Either way, Le Bris is just glad to see Browne doing well at Middlesbrough. Browne was important for Sunderland both on and off the field last year, and now he’s thriving and enjoying himself over on Teesside.
Le Bris said, “We haven’t talked about him coming back or a permanent deal yet. I’m happy for him. We talked at the start of the season about what would be best for his career. Sometimes, when you’ve got a lot of competition in your position—as we did after our summer signings—it’s tough to get game time. For someone like him, with his experience, it was clear he needed to play. I’m glad things are going well for him.”
Browne admitted he felt let down not getting a shot at Sunderland in the Premier League, but he gets why the club made those decisions after their busy summer. And it’s worked out for them.
He said, “We’re the ones who got the club promoted, so you’d hope you’d at least get a fair chance the next season. I’m disappointed, but I completely understand where the club’s coming from. They want to survive in the Premier League and climb as high as they can. They spent money and brought in guys they think can do that, and decided most of us from last season weren’t right for it.
“Honestly, maybe it’s fair. Teams go up and down all the time and become yo-yo clubs. They don’t want to end up like that. I think they probably looked at Nottingham Forest a few years ago and tried to copy that approach.
“I hope it all works out for them. I’m not going to badmouth anyone. I’m disappointed, sure, but maybe I’ll get another chance next season.”
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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