REGIS Le Bris has set out what he's looking for from an incoming striker as Sunderland continue their efforts to make a centre-forward transfer breakthrough.

The Black Cats kick off their Championship season at Cardiff tomorrow having not yet added a striker to their ranks, despite last term's difficulties.

Le Bris insisted in his press conference on Thursday that he wasn't frustrated by the recruitment delay, stressing the importance of signing the "right player".

And he then opened up on what makes a target the right fit for the Black Cats, emphasising that any incoming No.9 must have the mentality and confidence to cope with being the main man at the Stadium of Light.

"It's not just a question of abilities as a player: strong, fast, technical and tactical ability, it's a question of link with the team, the city, the club and expectations here," explained Le Bris.

"We are working out the needs. Many teams are searching for a striker. We played against Marseille and they are searching for a striker and many teams have the same idea. Consistency will be a very important point, stability, capacity to work in this kind of structure and with these expectations."

Le Bris admits Sunderland might not be able to land a striker who ticks all of the club's boxes - but the coaching and recruitment team want to get as close to a perfect fit as possible.

He said: "We can define a specific profile but in the recruitment it doesn't work like that.

"We want these kind of qualities but is that available? Or they might have this quality but not this one. We have defined different elements for the striker and at the end if 80% fits, it's good. I think really consistency and confidence and stability in the psychological side will be very important."

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With Hemir not featuring in Le Bris' immediate plans, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusyn are Sunderland's only striker options. Mayenda looks set to lead the line at Cardiff tomorrow but the head coach doesn't want to put too much pressure on the teenager, and Rusyn endured a difficult first campaign on Wearside last term.

With that in mind, Le Bris hasn't ruled out the possibility of signing two strikers before the summer deadline.

He said: "We'll see. For example, Eliezer wasn't expected at this level.

"For sure, one is very important because the strikers we have currently at the club are not ready to play all the games this season. One will be useful for sure, then we'll see."

Hemir is likely to head out on loan in the hope the 20-year-old will benefit from regular football elsewhere, but Le Bris still has high hopes for the Portuguese striker in the future.

He said: "Hemir is still young. We need to understand that the responsibility at the club is very important.

"We need to drill their foundations to be able to do that later. I think Hemir has great potential really but at the moment he's not ready for that."