Bailey Wright's future is in his own hands, according to Tony Mowbray - with the Sunderland boss happy to let the defender decide whether to stay on Wearside and compete for a place or leave to explore other options. Australia international Wright has been linked with a series of clubs this month, including Scottish Premier League outfits Aberdeen and Hibernian, along with League One side Portsmouth.
The 30-year-old was a mainstay of the Sunderland side that won promotion from League One last season, but he has not been a regular this term, with the emergence of players such as Dan Ballard, Danny Batth, Aji Alese, and Luke O'Nien, restricting him to only 14 Championship appearances with just six of those as a member of the starting XI. Mowbray has explained to Wright where he fits into his plans, and says it is now up to the former Bristol City man what he wants to do next.
Mowbray said: "My first thought is, what does Bailey want to do? I've been really honest with Bailey and where I see him in the pecking order of the defensive options we have got.
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"I think it's in Bailey's hands and I feel as though I would like to support him in whatever decision he makes. If he wants to stay at this club and compete to try to help this team achieve any goals that we might have this year, or if he wants to go and play and be a regular footballer for a team, I will support him."
Mowbray is a big admirer of the centre-back both as a player and as one of only a handful of experienced leaders in a dressing room mainly populated by young, up-and-coming, talent. "In my view, people earn respect," he said.
"This is a really good human being, a really good guy. Even when he is not stripped, he is in the dressing room encouraging everybody and being a real vocal part of the team.
"I think it's important that we have Bailey in the discussions about what's right and what's wrong. Has he got options? If he hasn't got options, he stays.
"If he has lot of options and wants to take one of them, we have to assess whether we can make that happen or let that happen."
If a suitable offer does come in for Wright, who represented his country at the World Cup in Qatar in November, Sunderland will have a decision to make over whether to let him leave or whether that would leave them stretched defensively. Should they allow Wright to move on, they may well look to bring in another young defender as cover.
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