However, the Black Cats boss admits the club could struggle to keep their talented young squad together this summer, whether they make it to the Premier League or not.
Bellingham, an established England Under-21 international at the age of just 19, is one of the hottest teenage properties in European football thanks to his performances since joining Sunderland from Birmingham City in the summer of 2023.
The midfielder has long been linked with Borussia Dortmund, where his brother, Jude, had a hugely successful spell before moving on to Real Madrid.
However, the speculation surrounding the German club has cranked up considerably this week amid reports that Dortmund have sent a senior delegation to Wearside to conduct formal discussions over a potential summer move.
German media sources have been reporting that Dortmund manager Niko Kovac, managing director Lars Ricken and sporting director Sebastian Kehl all visited the North-East to discuss Bellingham’s position.
It has been suggested that Dortmund are willing to offer an initial fee of around £17m for Bellingham, with significant add-ons potentially being included in a deal.
Real Madrid and Manchester United have also been linked with Bellingham in the last few days, with the frenzied transfer talk hardly providing the ideal backdrop for this evening’s play-off semi-final first leg against Coventry City.
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Le Bris is aware of the background chatter, but the Sunderland boss insists he is confident Bellingham, like the rest of his team-mates, will not become distracted as his side attempt to secure a place in the Premier League.
The Black Cats head coach is adamant the teenager will remain focused on the task in hand as Sunderland attempt to secure a positive result at the CBS Arena ahead of next Tuesday’s decisive second leg at the Stadium of Light.
However, Le Bris has also acknowledged that this could be a difficult summer on Wearside, with a number of Sunderland’s talented young players attracting attention from elsewhere. Trai Hume, Dan Neil and Chris Rigg have all been linked with possible moves to the Premier League.
Sunderland’s position would be strengthened if they were to be in the top-flight themselves next season, although even in that scenario, Le Bris admits it is hard to predict whether the current squad will remain intact.
“I don’t want to think too much about the future,” said the Sunderland boss. “But obviously when you have a successful team, especially with young players, talented players, it’s always tough to say that you will keep them all in the future.
“We’ll have a lot of interest in these players, so we’ll see later. What I can say is that they are all absolutely focused on these games ahead of us. This is really clear, 100 per cent.”
