Adil Aouchiche verdict emerges at Aberdeen as £1.5m Sunderland justification questioned
Adil Aouchiche is on loan at Aberdeen from Sunderland this season.
Sunderland brought in 14 new players in the summer, and as a result, several others were afforded moves elsewhere, whether it be on loan or for good.
Patrick Roberts joined Birmingham, Alan Browne moved to Middlesbrough, and Aouchiche joined Aberdeen on a deal until the end of the season.
The Frenchman had been completely frozen out of the squad under Regis Le Bris, with a lack of consistency the main concern for him on Wearside, and a similar verdict has emerged from his time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen yet to see the best from Adil Aouchiche
Aouchiche showed his quality in flashes at Sunderland, but was never able to replicate that form for a sustained period.
A loan move to Portsmouth followed, with a temporary transfer to Aberdeen at the start of the current campaign.
His future at the Stadium of Light looks bleak, and the Press and Journal reporter Ryan Cryle is unsure as to whether he has one at Aberdeen.
Speaking exclusively to Mackem News, he said: “In terms of output, Aouchiche’s performances were quite exciting to begin with, without the final pass/shot, but left you thinking: ‘Once he gets going, he’ll be a player’.
“However, in what has been a generally dismal start to the season for Aberdeen as a collective domestically and in Europe, it feels like Aouchiche has increasingly struggled to play any active role in games.“
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Aberdeen have a £1.5m buy option for Adil Aouchiche
Especially if Sunderland can avoid relegation this season, there will be no place for Aouchiche in the Premier League.
A permanent move away is the most likely outcome, but Cryle explained that there will be plenty of debate about whether Aberdeen trigger their right to buy.
- 14 appearances
- One goal
- Two assists
- Five chances created (league)
- 63.8% pass accuracy (league)
“There’s no rush to do a deal,” explained Cryle.
“However, £1.5m would be a club record fee for Aberdeen, and it seems pretty obvious to me that Aouchiche will need to do a lot more over the remainder of the season to justify such an outlay.“
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