Sunderland are racing to try and conclude one final incoming transfer of their remarkable summer window.
After agreeing an initial loan deal to sign Lutsharel Geertruida and a permanent deal to sign Brian Brobbey from Ajax, the Black Cats are now looking to sign a winger who can offer competition and depth on both flanks. While neither Geertruida nor Brobbey are Sunderland players yet, talks have been advanced throughout deadline day and confirmation of their signings is considered a formality.
Less clear is whether Sunderland will be able to finalise a deal for Bertrand Traore. The Black Cats have agreed a fee of around £2.5 million with Ajax to sign the winger, as per Sky Sports. The club have been in dialogue with the Eredivisie club over the last couple of days regarding a deal for the 29-year-old, and have pressed ahead with the move in recent hours.
Sunderland now face a race against time to finalise the deal before the 7pm window, with club officials busy on a significant number of deals both incoming and outgoing. However, now that they are a Premier League club they could be helped by the deal sheet rule. The deal sheet allows a club to confirm that a deal has been reached in order to allow for additional time to submit any remaining paperwork. For a deadline of 19:00, the deal sheet cannot be used before 17:00 and needs to arrive fully completed before the transfer window closes. Once the sheet arrives, clubs have got another two hours, or until 21:00, in which to submit the full paperwork.
Traore would also bring significant Premier League experience, having played at the level for Chelsea and Aston Villa. He joined Ajax on a free transfer last summer after leaving Villareal, and played regularly as they went close to winning the title.
The other transfer deals that could happen before the end of the window
Sunderland’s need for another winger was underlined when Birmingham City made a move for Patrick Roberts, which is expected to go through before the deadline. Sunderland would have been happy to keep Roberts but his chances of regular game time were considered slim and so the club are reluctant to stand in his way given his outstanding service in recent years.
