Bailey Wright could be in line for a reunion with former Sunderland boss Lee Johnson in Scotland - if Tony Mowbray is prepared to let him leave Wearside. Aberdeen, whose head of recruitment is Tony Mowbray's brother Darren, have been linked with a loan move for the Australia international defender in recent days, and now Johnson's Hibernian have reportedly joined the chase according to The Scottish Sun.
Wright was a cornerstone of the Sunderland side that won promotion from League One last season but has had limited opportunities this term, partly due to the summer additions of Daniel Ballard and Aji Alese, and partly connected to a family bereavement which saw his mother-in-law pass away while Wright was away at the World Cup. But, while he has made only eight starts in all competitions, he has still featured in around half of Sunderland's games this season.
Competition for places in central defence is fierce, with Wright, Ballard, and Alese, also battling it out with Danny Batth, Luke O'Nien, and Dennis Cirkin who has played as a centre-back at times. However, Mowbray is a big fan of Wright and has labelled him "a great guy, an amazing human being", and he values the 30-year-old as one of the experienced heads in the dressing room which counterbalance the relative youth and inexperience of some of the other members of the squad.
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Wright has also captained the side in the absence of regular skipper Corry Evans this term. Mowbray will also be conscious that he does not want to emerge from the January window with a squad that is weaker than it was going in to the month.
And with O'Nien suspended for the next three games, Alese and Cirkin having yet to return from injury, and Batth having only just returned from injury, he will be wary of letting Wright leave unless he is convinced he has enough cover.
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