It’s been a remarkable and unprecedented summer transfer window for Sunderland – and deadline day was no exception.
The signing of Brian Brobbey from Ajax for a reported £17 million, possibly rising to £21 million, takes our summer spending to almost £160 million, exceeding the record set by Nottingham Forest back in 2022 for a newly-promoted club.
The 23-year old has some pedigree. A Dutch international with an impressive goalscoring record, he was named Ajax fans’ player of the year for 2023/24.
What’s more, Brobbey said he was leaving the Dutch giants because he “can’t wait” to be part of the passion at Sunderland and play in the Premier League, “the biggest stage in the world.”
We’ve also brought in Brobbey’s fellow Dutchman Lutsharel Geertruida on loan from RB Leipzig. Both have Champions League experience and come highly rated, with the latter bolstering our defensive options.
Sunderland have also moved to bring in another winger, in the form of Bertrand Traore, who at 29 brings a wealth of experience from a career across the continent, having played for Aston Villa, Lyon, Villareal and Ajax. A reported fee of £2.5 million reflects Traore’s age, but could represent outstanding value for a player of his calibre.
This transfer activity is unpredecented. We’ve seem nothing like it before and its a far cry from the days of Stewart Donald splashing out on Will Grigg. It clearly demonstrates that we have every intention of building on our impressive start to the season and staking a genuine claim to establish ourselves in the top flight.
We now have a multi-national, multi-talented squad – a whole new team in many respects with a few of the old guard from last season continuing to make a valued contribution. The three new signings add more depth and give Regis Le Bris more options on a matchday.
In terms of outgoings, we’ve lost Marc Guiu, returning to Chelsea early in his loan spell, without us really seeing what he can do, but the arrival of Brobbey will more than make up for that. It will be interesting to see how Le Bris views his attacking options now.
Several of our fringe players have gone out on loan, notably Patrick Roberts, Niall Huggins and Jensen Seelt.
We knew that we needed to clear the decks after so many new arrivals. These are not surprise developments although I would have liked to see Huggins move to the Championship, rather than a League One club in Wycombe Wanderers.
Nevertheless, Huggins needs to play regular football as he looks to rebuild his career following lengthy spells out with injury, and surely he’ll get that at Wycombe provided he can stay fit.
Roberts could have been a useful bench player for Sunderland this season, but with another winger incoming he would have fallen further down the pecking order.
