Bertrand Traoré: Playing style, key strengths and what he'll bring to the Sunderland squad

Sunderland's remarkable summer transfer window sprung one last surprise in the final hours of deadline say as the club made a late move to sign Bertrand Traoré from Ajax.

The Black Cats have paid a fee of around £2.5 million to sign the winger, who was out of contract at the Eredivisie club next summer. Traoré has agreed an initial one-year contract on Wearside, with the club holding the option to extend for a further year.

So why have they signed him and what will the 29-year-old bring to the squad? Here, we bring you up to speed...

What is Bertrand Traoré's main position?

Traoré is primarily a winger who operates off the right flank, who likes to drive inside on his stronger left foot. In that sense, there are clear similarities with Patrick Roberts, who left to join Birmingham City on loan as part of a busy deadline day of business. As such, his main role within the squad will be to compete with Chemsdine Talbi for minutes on the right wing and offer an alternative option for Régis Le Bris within games.

However, he has displayed some versatility both more recently and across his career. he can play off the left if required, and has also played as a centre forward both for club and country. The signing of Brian Brobbey means its highly unlikely Sunderland will need him there this season, but it is an option.

What are Bertrand Traoré's key strengths and what will he bring to Sunderland?

The winger is very experienced, both at club and international level. From a Sunderland perspective, he is also coming off a good campaign at Ajax where he played regularly and contributed significantly in the final third. In the Eredivisie alone last season the winger registered 10 goals and assists, and the numbers beneath those performances demonstrate that he can be very productive when he sees enough of the ball.

Primarily he likes to drive infield from the right flank and looks for opportunities to get a shot away, according to wyscout's data he was 9th in the Eredivisie last season for shots per 90 minutes. They are often from good positions, though, as he was 13th for combined expected goals and assists across the division. He was also 6th for progressive runs made per 90 minutes, and 4th for deep completions.

A closer look at his statistics via fbref also underlines his productivity. Compared to wingers across fbref's 'next 14 divisions' last season (essentially the next best outside of the traditional big European five), Traoré was in the top 3% for non-penalty expected goals and assists. The top 5% for progressive carries per 90 minutes, the top 5% for progressive careers and the top 6% for shot-creating actions. Of course, you'd expect a winger playing in an Ajax side mostly dominating games and possession to have good attacking numbers, but this still shows that he is a player producing at a high level. He should suit Sunderland's direct style, whether that's from the start or more likely as an impact substitute.

His contribution last season drew praise from technical director Alex Roes following his departure last night, who said: "Through his experience and quality, Bertrand has made a valuable contribution to Ajax in reaching the Champions League. When the opportunity arose for him to play in the Premier League again, we felt he had earned that move. We thank him for his commitment and wish him every success at Sunderland."

Sunderland found it very difficult to recruit a winger following the collapse of the deal to sign Armand Lauriente, but Traore presents a low-risk option financially who has proven that he can make something happen.

What Kristjaan Speakman said about why Sunderland signed Bertrand Traoré

"As a left-footed player who operates on the right, Bertrand is a different type of player to those we already had in our group. He enjoys eliminating opponents one-on-one, and he can also play in multiple positions, with this added versatility providing us with additional options from game to game and in-game. He featured regularly for Ajax last season, and he’s excited to be back in the Premier League, and we are excited to have him in our squad.”

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