Sunderland AFC is delighted to announce the signing of Simon Adingra. Moving from Brighton & Hove Albion, the 23-year-old winger has signed a five-year contract at the Stadium of Light. Adingra becomes the sixth signing of a new Premier League era on Wearside, following the arrivals of Enzo Le Fée, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Reinildo Mandava, and Chemsdine Talbi. The Côte d'Ivoire international made 33 appearances for the Seagulls last season, including 29 in the Premier League. Upon joining the squad, he said: “It’s a pleasure to be here, and I cannot wait to get started. The Club and the project are really exciting. I spoke with everyone and their interest in me made the decision easy - I wanted to be part of Sunderland’s future. Playing in the Premier League has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so to continue doing that is incredible. It’s a big challenge ahead – we’ll be facing top players and strong opponents - but I’m ready for it." Adingra moved to FC Nordsjaelland in 2020 and scored on his debut against FC Copenhagen in April 2021 before exploding onto the Danish Superliga scene during the 2021-22 season. He contributed ten goals and four assists in 33 league and cup appearances in his breakthrough campaign, which culminated in a move to the American Express Stadium in June 2022. An immediate switch to Brighton’s partner Club, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, followed, and Adringa once again flourished, scoring 15 goals and registering 14 assists in 51 senior appearances. Since returning to East Sussex, the winger has made 73 senior appearances for the Seagulls in all competitions. On the international stage, Adingra won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and provided both assists in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final, which also led to him being named Best Young Player at the tournament. Kristjaan Speakman added: “Our long-standing interest in Simon has been well documented and it’s no secret that we worked hard to bring him to the Club in January, so it’s great to finally see him on Wearside. He’s a quick and direct wide player, who can play on both sides and travels with the ball at speed. He’s got significant Premier League experience, which is important for us as a newly promoted team, and due to our recent connection with him, he already has a strong understanding of Sunderland AFC and our journey. Simon is ready to play his part, and we are excited to see him in our team.”
This might seem like an anti-jinx but I reckon that's us done for the day in terms of any sort of news or links. No here we go or the like today. Tomorrow though...
For me, when a club tracks a player for so long, and the player retains an interest for so long, it makes for a high probability of success. Alignment so much more solid. I remember, in the good old days clubs would scout players for ages. Liverpool, when they were dominant, were known for taking at least a season to scout and watch a player before being confident they would be a good fit. I reckon this lad will have a big impact with us this year and beyond.
Loving how many of these signings are saying they've spoken to KLD. Can't imagine many owners get that involved in transfers or the players.
I'll say it again, the reason why Adingra excites me the most is, I watch his reel and get excited by how good he looks and then remember he's already doing it against PL teams
So the home kit will be revealed next week then? I thought they would play the games on Saturday in both kits but I guess not