Last week Sunderland completed a double transfer swoop in just 24 hours. Jeremain Lens arrived from Dynamo Kiev for around £8 million and Younes Kaboul signed from Tottenham for £3 million. But what will these players bring to the Sunderland team? A Sunderland team that struggled at the wrong end of the Premier League once more last season?
Jeremain Lens and Younes Kaboul: What Will They Bring To Sunderland?
Dick Advocaat stated several times that Sunderland needed players. Players that could go straight into the first team and make a difference. One type of player that he identified was a left sided forward/winger. Last season Connor Wickham played a lot in this role with little success. A change was obviously needed. A player with pace and the ability to create and score goals was identified.
Dick Advocaat had worked with Jeremain Lens before at their previous clubs AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven. Advcaat was always going to look at players he had worked with before, knew, and could trust to do a job. Lens therefore seemed the ideal choice for Sunderland’s troublesome left side.
Jeremain Lens is known for being lightening quick, his stamina and his decent goals to games ratio: 1 goal in every 3.5 games. He is also a Dutch international with Champions League experience. His caliber therefore is evident, and makes the signing a shrewd one in an increasingly competitive Premier League.
Dick Advocaat said of his new signing, “He is fast and he has scored goals everywhere he has played so that will help the team.” Looking at his credentials, he is everything Sunderland have lacked in recent seasons. A fast, creative and experienced player who can score goals. Sunderland fans will be hoping he can hit the ground running at the Stadium Of Light.
The regular centre half pairing at Sunderland over the last several seasons has been ex-Manchester United pair Wes Brown and John O’Shea. Both have served the club well but unfortunately the clock is ticking on their careers. Wes Brown has become increasingly injury prone and John O’Shea, even though he played the majority of games since joining, is not getting any younger. Ex-loanee Sebastian Coates has been brought in but the main signing at the back this summer is ex-Tottenham captain Younes Kaboul.
Advocaat obviously liked what he saw of Coates to bring him permanently but he also felt another more experienced player was required. When the deal to bring in Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts failed, Kaboul was seen as the perfect plan B.
Kaboul comes to Sunderland with a wealth of experience and is still in his twenties. At Tottenham he became a crowd favourite for his power, pace, determination and commitment. He was once revealed as Tottenham’s quickest player over 100m. This was in a time where the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon were in the Tottenham side.
Kaboul is also good in the air. At 6’4 he can be dominant in both penalty areas, contributing to defending and scoring goals. Dick Advocaat said of his new centre half, “He is a very experienced player, which is what we need. He has shown that in his time at Spurs and he will be a very good addition to our squad.”
Looking at these signings, Sunderland seem to be progressing well in the transfer market but with the season only a few short weeks away, more signings will be expected from the clubs fans.
