SIMON GRAYSON is confident Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong will be fully committed to Sunderland following the end of the transfer window, having spoken at length to the duo in the build-up to deadline day.

Earlier in the summer, it was widely assumed that both Kone and Ndong would be moving on in the wake of relegation, but the window closed last Thursday evening with them both on Sunderland’s books.

Neither player was on Wearside as the deadline approached, as they had both travelled to Africa for international duty, but Grayson had made a point of discussing a variety of options with them prior to their departure.

Had Sunderland received an acceptable offer last Thursday, either player could have been sold, and the situation will be reassessed when the transfer window reopens in January. For the next four months, though, they will form a key part of the Black Cats’ first-team squad, and Grayson is confident their attitude will not be an issue.

“I had conversations with Lamine and Didier before they went away on international duty,” said the Sunderland boss, who is preparing his side for tomorrow’s Championship home game with Sheffield United. “I said, ‘Look, if something happens and we get a bid and you move on, then so be it. But if you don’t, then you both get your heads down, work hard, and we’ll see where we go in three or four months’ time’.

“Both were fantastic, and agreed that while they were in a position where they would like to go and play at the highest level, they would be more than committed if nothing happened. You’ve seen that from their performances this season – both Didier and Lamine have shown they’re committed to this football club.”

While Kone and Ndong remained on Sunderland’s books, Wahbi Khazri and Papy Djilobodji left on loan moves to Rennes and Dijon respectively. The duo made no attempt to hide their desire to leave Wearside, and Grayson was delighted to see them go.

Three players arrived to help replace them, with Jonny Williams signing a season-long loan from Crystal Palace, and Callum McManaman and Marc Wilson moving on free transfers after being released from their previous clubs.

In total, Grayson made ten signings this summer, and while his attempts to recruit another striker on deadline day came to nothing, he is satisfied with the squad he has assembled.

“We’re happy,” he said. “We’ve got more flexibility and adaptability around the squad, and more strength in depth. Most importantly, it’s about a group of players who want to be here now.

“We had two players who went out who made it clear they didn’t want to be here, and I’ve stressed from day one that if that’s the case, we’ll move on to other players who do. Sometimes, your best business can be getting players out who don’t want to be here because they might have a negative effect on others.

“That’s no disrespect to Papy and Wahbi, they’ve moved on and I wish them well. But we want players who want to be here at Sunderland.

“We brought in three players of good quality last week, who are flexible and adaptable. Wilson can play anywhere across a back four or three, Williams and McManaman can play anywhere at the top end of the pitch.

“There’s flexibility there, but the main thing is they all showed a real hunger and desire to come here and get their careers back on track to a certain extent after not playing a great deal of football over a period of time.”

None of the deadline-day signings have played a single minute of first-team football this season, but they were all involved in the pre-season programme at their respective former clubs, and will all feature in tomorrow’s match-day 18.

“They should be generally fit because they’ve all played a few Under-23 games,” said Grayson. “That isn’t the real deal, but ultimately I’d think all three will be in the 18. Some might start and some might be on the bench.

“I’ve not decided yet because there’s still a couple to come back from international duty. They’re at a decent enough level, although they’ll get better as the games go by.”

Duncan Watmore will not be involved tomorrow, but the winger is back in full training after recovering from a knee ligament injury and could make a first-team return in a couple of weeks’ time.

“Duncan has trained fully with us now for about ten days, and the outline is that if he gets through next week, he’ll be involved with the Under-23 game next weekend at Manchester City,” said Grayson.

“He’s doing everything that everyone else is doing, which is good, but we have to be so careful because it’s easy to have a recurrence with these injuries. If we have to lose him for the next couple of weeks, so be it.

“He’ll be like a new player for us with his enthusiasm, quality and how he can carry the ball up the pitch. He’ll be like a £10m signing potentially, that’s the level he was at before with everyone talking about him.”

Paddy McNair is further behind Watmore in his recuperation from his own ligament injury, having suffered a setback during pre-season, but the Northern Irishman is also making good progress and could begin outdoor training next week.