What impressed Jenson Seelt before Sunderland transfer after interest from Burnley

Jenson Seelt says Sunderland had been scouting him for more than 18 months before he signed for the Black Cats last summer. 

The 20-year-old defender arrived on Wearside from PSV in June, after playing for the Dutch side’s second team last season, and made his first Championship start during a 3-1 win over Birmingham this month. Burnley were also said to be interested in Seelt, who joined Sunderland for a seven-figure fee, after the centre-back had impressed playing in the Netherlands and in the Premier League International Cup.

When speaking about his time on Wearside so far, Seelt told Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad: "The people are sweet here, caring. I have always felt part of the team, you are involved in everything. I think Sunderland is a fantastic choice and I am happy in this environment. Of course I am grateful to PSV for my training, but I needed this step now.

"They had been following me for more than a year and a half and especially after our Premier League International Cup games they pushed for a transfer. I was quite impressed that they had portrayed me so well."

"Sunderland has ambitions to return to the highest level and also wanted to attract young players to enable further growth. They thought I had played well with PSV against the British promises and that is why I received a nice offer. So you can see that you can also play in the international matches of Jong PSV on the radar of clubs.”