Sunderland have just confirmed that Jeremain Lens has completed his switch from Dynamo Kiev to Sunderland for a fee believed to be in the region of £8 million.
The move ends weeks of speculation as to whether the Dutch forward would be reuniting with his former boss Dick Advocaat at the Stadium of Light. Lens has apparently been one of Advocaat’s main targets and today he got his man. Speculation about him joining Sunderland gathered pace on Monday. There has been a high amount of speculation since then. Rumours of him already in Sunderland having a medical were common place as were reports that he had been named in a Kiev side to play Shaktar on Tuesday. Neither turned out to be true.
However Lens finally arrived on Wearside today, passed his medical and signed on the dotted line shortly after. Lens was unveiled as a Sunderland player on the clubs website a short time ago. He is now expected to join up with his new teammates in North America as they continue with their pre season tour.
Lens had this to say following his arrival,“I followed the team last season following the arrival of Dick Advocaat and we have a good team, so I’m really happy to be here.”“I watched the derby against Newcastle United and the supporters were really amazing, so I’ve got a good impression of the fans and I hope they support us in the same way during the new season.”
Lens said this about Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat “We have previously worked well together at AZ and PSV. We know each other, that’s ideal”. He went onto add “I have never made a secret of the fact that I like the Premier League. Despite Dynamo playing in the Champions League, now it seems like a great opportunity to make the switch.”
Sunderland’s Head Coach said,“We have signed an international player and I am delighted to welcome him to Sunderland.“He is a very well-known player in Europe and has played over 30 games for the Dutch national side, which shows his calibre”.
The Dutch international forward who has represented his country 29 times and plays primarily as a winger but can also play as striker. He is also well known for his electric pace. Something which Sunderland have lacked in recent seasons.
He began his career at AZ Alkmaar, scoring 13 times in 55 appearances where he starred under Advocaat. He had a loan spell at NEC before making a permanent move to PSV Eindhoven. At PSV he once again teamed up with Advocaat scoring 34 goals in 96 appearances. After this impressive spell, Dynamo Kiev signed Lens for 9 million euros in 2013. During his time in Kiev he has played 49 times scoring 10 goals and provided 14 assists.
Sunderland finally after years of searching have a winger that get beat opponents with pace, provide assists and score goals. Although this will be Lens’s first time playing in the Premier League, all Sunderland fans will have their fingers crossed that he can hit the ground running and show the form that he has at previous clubs.
Sunderland will now turn their attentions to other targets especially after a deal to bring another long term target to the club, Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts failed this week.
