Ajax pull a quick one on Sunderland amid new Bertrand Traore transfer reveal
Sunderland signed Bertrand Traore from Ajax on deadline day.
Given the fact that the international break is still upon us, many fans are still looking back at the transfer business done by Sunderland in the latter stages of the window.
Brian Brobbey, Lutsharel Geertruida and Traore all made the move to the Stadium of Light on what was a hectic deadline day.
Traore‘s arrival was the last, and certainly a late one, with the nature of the deal now revealed from Ajax’s side.
Sunderland accused of Bertrand Traore panic buy
Sunderland submitted a deal sheet to seal the signing of Traore, who put pen to paper on a one-year deal on Wearside, with an option for an additional year.
The Burkina Faso international had a good year with Ajax in the previous campaign, though the Dutch giants were eager to move him on given his contract situation.
- Eredivisie – 32 games, six goals, five assists
- Europa League – 15 games, four goals, three assists
Sunderland paid around £2.5million to bring him to the Stadium of Light, though the consensus from Holland is that it was a panic buy from the Black Cats.
As quoted in Voetbalzone, Dutch journalist Freek Jansen said: “[Sunderland] were working on Brobbey, which was already a race against time. Full throttle, because the market in England closed at 8p.m. But Sunderland were also looking for a number 10 and a winger. And Ajax said Traore was out there.”
“And that happened very quickly. A quick call was made to Traore and his agent. Sunderland probably checked Transfermarkt.com and saw that Traore had scored away at PSV the previous year. They thought: ‘Got it !’ And that was quickly settled.”
Time will tell if Bertrand Traore was a worthy addition
With Sunderland facing Crystal Palace this weekend, there is a chance that Traore makes his debut for the Black Cats.
At such a small fee, there’s little risk behind the deal, though, given Sunderland’s attempts to sign Armand Lauriente earlier in the window, to settle on Traore is a step down.
With that said, at 30 years old, he has bags of experience, a lot of which has arrived in the Premier League with Aston Villa.
He will be another Sunderland star jetting off for AFCON this December, though the hope will be that the Wearsiders have enough points on the board by then to subdue any concerns over depth.
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