Sunderland rounded off what was a very busy summer transfer window for the club by pulling off a last minute deal for a familiar face to Premier League fans on deadline day.
Less than an hour before Monday's (September 1) deadline came, Sky Sports' Keith Downie and Anthony Joseph revealed that The Black Cats had agreed a deal with Ajax to sign Bertrand Traore.
The Premier League club were up against time to get the deal over the line, but a few hours after the window shut, the Burkino Faso captain was unveiled as a Sunderland player.
The fee paid to take Traore from Amsterdam to the Stadium of Light is worth £2.5m, and he signed a one-year deal with an option of a year extension.
Welcome to Sunderland AFC, Bertrand Traoré! 🪄🇧🇫
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) September 1, 2025
The forward has signed a one-year contract on Wearside with a Club option of an additional year.
✍️ @livescore
Sunderland's late capture of the 29-year-old took the club's summer spending to just over £180m, with 14 new players having come through the door for last season's Championship play-off winners.
Traore was not the only player to join Regis Le Bris' side from the Eredivisie giants on Monday, as the club completed a deal worth £21.6 million for striker Brian Brobbey.
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Traore revealed his delight at signing for the newly promoted Premier League side after his move was confirmed.
"I’m really happy to join Sunderland. It’s a huge club, and for me it feels great to be back in the Premier League. I had good times here, so it’s special to return, and I can’t wait to get started," the forward told Sunderland' official channels.
"I'm excited to be part of this project and this team. It helps that I already know a few players, like Simon Adingra, and of course Brian (Brobbey), who also joined today," he added.
Traore has prior experience in the Premier League
Getty
Sunderland will be the third Premier League side which Traore represents, after previous spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Despite beginning his senior career at Stamford Bridge, he made just 16 appearances for Chelsea, as three of his four years at the club were spent on loan at Vitesse and Ajax, respectively.
After three years in Ligue 1 with Lyon, the Burkinabe returned to the Premier League by joining Villa.
He missed just two league games in his first season in the West Midlands. However, he would go on to feature much less in the following campaign, before spending the next two seasons on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir and Villarreal, respectively.
Traore returned for a second spell with Ajax last summer, scoring 10 goals in 49 appearances for the Dutch side in the 2024/25 campaign.