Simon Adingra is set to join Sunderland from Brighton in a deal worth €21m +€3m add ons (£20m), as per various sources.
The Ivorian winger, 23, signed from Nordsjælland in an €8m deal in the summer of 2022, before joining sister club Union Saint-Gilloise on a season long loan that same year.
What legacy does Adingra leave?
The first glimpses of Adingra came at the US Premier League Summer Series in 2023, where he made several impressive appearances against the likes of Newcastle and Brentford, the latter scoring a brace against.
Off the back of a successful loan in Belgium where he registered 11 goals and eight assists, he has gone on to play over 70 times for the club across the last two seasons, contributing eight goals and three assists in the premier league.
Despite initially being more of a squad rotation player, due to injuries in the 23/24 campaign he made 31 league appearances.
In the middle of that campaign we lost him to AFCON, where he was named young player of the tournament and went on to lift the trophy.
The fanbase has been split in opinion over Adingra for a long time, and given he played less than half the amount of football in the most recent campaign, it’s easy to see why.
The Right to Dream academy product was a rotation option largely due to Kaoru Mitoma’s post injury resurgence. With the signing of Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda his minutes on the right were further limited, where he largely struggled out of position.
Adingra has scored some important goals in his time at the club. Ajax away will be a memory many fans won’t forget as our first European away win, where he scored the second and assisted the opener from Ansu Fati.
With goals against Liverpool in the league and Carabao Cup, a sensational solo goal against Sheffield United and excellent strikes against Wolves, Aston Villa and Everton in 24/25, Adingra has shown glimpses of a premier league quality player but has yet to string some consistency together.
His willingness to step into a squad and perform whilst not being ready in 2023/24 shall always be remembered and cherished by the Albion faithful. Someone who truly gave everything on the pitch.
At Sunderland as one of the main men, he could be a real asset in their aims to stay up this season. A decent carrier who gets shots off regularly and links up well with teammates, there’s a good base to build off.
£20m would represent a good deal for all parties. Whilst I’m slightly surprised that it is Sunderland he is going to (who were reportedly interested in a January loan), they seem to be building a project that he could thrive in.
Thank you for everything, and although your journey with us comes to an end, everyone at Brighton wishes you the best.
It remains to be seen whether Tom Watson, who came the other way, will be deemed to be the replacement, or whether Albion will dip in to the market for a rotation winger.
With Ibrahim Osman departing too, this could be something the club consider.
