REGIS Le Bris says Sunderland's pursuit of a centre-forward is "difficult" because the Black Cats are focused on making sure they sign the "right player" to lead their attack this season.

Sunderland head for Cardiff for the Championship opener on Saturday having not yet strengthened their forward line despite last season's striker difficulties.

With Hemir not yet first team ready in the eyes of Le Bris, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusyn are Sunderland's only striker options - with the former looking likely to lead the line in Wales.

Sunderland's work to strengthen their forward line is ongoing, with the Black Cats having not yet managed to make a breakthrough in their pursuit of Alexandre Mendy.

And while Le Bris admits that in an ideal world he'd already have a striker through the door, he says the coaching and recruitment team are in agreement when it comes to the importance of making sure they land a player who is the right fit.

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"As a head coach, we still have two ideas," said the head coach in his first pre-match press conference this season.

"The first one is to work with the team, where we have many talented players and strikers. Like Eliezer Mayenda, for example. We will work with this team against Cardiff so that is my main concern. On the other hand, we want to improve the team and it's difficult to find the right player, the right people to work with because at this club the responsibility is high.

"It's not just a question of finding someone, it's about the right player for our team with this style of play and this responsibility. It's difficult, a long process. We have three weeks ahead. It could be better if he was available now but it's not the case so we work without.

"I'm not frustrated because I like the players we have and with them, we have good potential as a team. With another player we can build something different of course but with these players, we can perform well I think. So let's work with it."