Sunderland: The Jewison Bennette decision that isn't looking great - View | OneFootball

Sunderland allowed winger Jewison Bennette to leave the club on loan in January, but the Black Cats' hierarchy may already have regrets over the move.

The Costa Rican winger made the temporary move to Greek Super League side Aris Thessaloniki, but Bennette has struggled to break into their team and has barely featured so far.

Whilst the club made the right decision to loan the player out in January, they would have wanted the 19-year-old to be playing regular football to help him grow and develop as a player - not being used sparingly and struggling to get a game.

This is doing the Central American attacker no good, and whilst it's early days for Bennette in Greece, it appears to be a move that has benefitted and will be benefitting nobody that is involved.

In hindsight, Sunderland should have perhaps ensured with Aris that the player would have regular minutes before agreeing to send him there on loan for the rest of the season.

Jewison Bennette's time at Aris so far has been a let-down

There's no doubting that Bennette needed a loan move, and the move to Aris seemed a good one on the face of it.

The winger had played just 79 minutes of football for the Black Cats this season, and was out of the first-team picture despite being highly-rated upon his arrival on Wearside last season.

Whilst the Greek Super League isn't one of the main European leagues, playing regular football there certainly would have benefited Bennette far more than playing under-21's football at Sunderland or sitting on the bench each week, and with Aris having two other Costa Ricans in Alvaro Zamora and Ronald Matarrita, there was a good chance that Bennette might be able to settle.

However, he's struggled to make the desired impact in Greece, appearing in just two games at time of writing - both of which were starts - but he was hauled off at half-time in both.

This is arguably more concerning for Sunderland that the player not being picked at all - the fact he's been given two chances, and been subbed off at half-time in both suggests that he's not up to the required standard.

Since being subbed off at the break against Atromitos on the February 17, Bennette has failed to even make the club's matchday squad, so it appears that his future in Greece looks bleak.

His stats don't make pretty reading either, as according to Fotmob, the winger has managed just one successful dribble during his time in Greece, with a success rate of just 25%, with dribbling being one of his apparent strengths.

He's won just three duels at a success rate of 25%, managed 15 passes at a success rate of 75% and has managed just one shot from his 90 minutes of football.

Whilst Sunderland could have perhaps done more due diligence on Bennette's move to Greece, ultimately, if the player is performing poorly, then he can't expect to play.

Aris are fifth in the Greek Super League table, competing for European football, so they can't afford to pick the Sunderland loanee if he's not up to the standard of the league.

Sunderland should have loaned Jewison Bennette elsewhere

Whilst it's easy to say in hindsight, Sunderland should have loaned Jewison Bennette elsewhere.

The player struggled to break into Sunderland's matchday squad on most occasions this season, so it was naive of them to assume he'd be a regular in the Greek Super League.

The player clearly isn't good enough yet for a club of Aris' stature, so they should have looked closer to home when it came to a loan move for Bennette.

A move to League One where the Costa Rican international could have played regular football would have undoubtedly been more beneficial for the player than not making the matchday squad in Greece.

He's shown in glimpses that he's a talented player and there would have been clubs in League One who were happy to take him. Playing in England would have benefited Bennette's Sunderland career in the long run, too.

The move to Greece has benefited nobody and Sunderland will surely regret their decision to loan him to Aris.