On deadline day last summer, Sunderland made a real fist of it, signing four new players to take their summer tally to eight. But those who arrived on deadline day have offered mixed results so far.
The four who joined on deadline were Chris Mepham, Salis Abdul Samed, Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi. Of the four so far, Mepham has been the best coup for Sunderland.
He’s become a formidable name at the back and a mainstay in Regis Le Bris’ starting XI, featuring 20 times in the Championship already this season.
Meanwhile, Aleksic has started slow but looks a signing for the future. Samed only made his debut in the last outing against Stoke City in the FA Cup, whilst Abdullahi is yet to feature at all.
Nigerian striker Abdullahi required surgery on a muscle injury soon after arriving at the Stadium of Light in August. Formerly of Gent, the 20-year-old has become a bit of a forgotten man over the last few months.
And now the Black Cats could buy a new striker entirely with Tom Cannon linked with a £13million Sunderland move in this January transfer window.
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Report claims Sunderland paid just £1.26m for Ahmed Abdullahi
Sunderland broke their transfer record under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to sign Aleksic last summer, paying his former club Radnicki 1923 a reported £3.5million. And at the same time it was claimed that Sunderland spent £2.5million on signing Abdullahi.
Reports differed, but £2.5million was the fee reported most. Now though, it appears as if Sunderland may not have paid that much at all with fresh reports from Belgium claiming that just £1.26million was spent by Sunderland on Abdullahi.
Voetbal Nieuws in Belgium are now claiming that Sunderland paid as little as €1.5million for Abdullahi last summer, or £1.26million. One previous claim did suggest that Sunderland bid just €2million for Abdullahi (£1.69million), but that’s still smaller than the fee that Voetbal Nieuws are now claiming.
When will Ahmed Abdullahi make his Sunderland debut?
Fans have been waiting patiently to see Abdullahi given a run out in the Championship. Although with Wilson Isidor banging in the goals up front, Abdullahi’s debut hasn’t been a pressing talking point as such.
Le Bris has kept on pushing Abdullahi’s potential debut date back. Speaking ahead of the Stoke City game in the FA Cup last time out, Le Bris even suggested that the 20-year-old could debut then.
He didn’t, but it suggests that Abdullahi is just about ready to feature for Sunderland. If he can hit the ground running then it’ll give Sunderland another edge in their battle for promotion to the Premier League this season.