REGIS Le Bris has stressed the importance of finding the "right moment" to hand Milan Aleksic his first taste of Sunderland action.

The Black Cats have high hopes for the deadline day recruit, who joined from Radnicki 1923 having broken into their senior side and playing a starring role last season, leading to a first call-up to the Serbia national squad.

Despite the excitement of Sunderland chiefs at Aleksic's potential, there's also an understanding that rushing the attacking midfielder into action could do more harm than good. Aleksic has been an unused substitute in the last three Championship games.

Le Bris has shown with signings such as Ian Poveda - an experienced Championship player who arrived earlier in the summer - that he's happy to be patient with newcomers to ensure they're physically prepared and tactically equipped to feature for Sunderland.

And he admits it can be "difficult" to know when the time is right.

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"The new players for example, Ian Poveda, Tommy Watson, Naz (Rusyn)...they are now ready to play but they were either not fit before or did not have a lot of experience at the level," said Sunderland's boss.

"So the efficiency of the core [of the team] will be important, how we can play with efficiency and less energy [in busy weeks].

"For the other players, it is picking the right moment to play them in the team - for the level of the team and for their confidence.

"For example with a young player if it is too early, they could fail and this picture, this image can stay with them for three, four, five months. It is important to pick the right moment."

Le Bris continued: "For Tommy [Watson] and Milan, it is exactly the same question. We trust them because we think they have many qualities and the potential to perform well, to play for Sunderland and give a new profile in our squad.

"It is still difficult to find the right moment to play. Sometimes you do not have the choice and sometimes we can choose, so for Tommy he had I think 12 minutes on Saturday and this was perfect for him.

"For Milan, I don't know exactly at the minute. He's good in the training sessions but we still have to make sure it is the right moment and we have Alan Browne now available."

As well as Watson, Harrison Jones was on Sunderland's bench at Watford, while Trey Ogunsuyi has also had his first taste of senior involvement in the early stages of the season.

"During this Championship, these players will have opportunities to play," said Le Bris of Sunderland's academy youngsters.

"For me, it's the identity of the club. When we have the opportunity to give them new experiences and minutes to understand the rhythm and show their qualities as well, we will do this with huge confidence. We trust these players and the identity of the club."