Gav says…
I’m glad we’ve managed to move him on quickly.
It was pretty clear last season that Adil had no future here under Régis Le Bris, and his loan to Portsmouth went alright but was nothing special, so he was never going to come back and make a difference — especially after promotion.
I think there’s a good player in there but I’m not sure that we can afford to wait around to find out.
He’ll probably do well in Scotland if he knuckles down and fits in, and that’s the key thing here. Adil has the talent, but can he apply it over a 40+ game season and will he find a manager who’ll show him a bit of love?
Aberdeen are actually a really forward-thinking football club and their recruitment is smart. They tend to look into the European leagues for the more obscure players, and it’s working as they won a cup last season.
Their head coach, Jimmy Thelin, was linked with the Sunderland job before Le Bris got it and I wonder if he’d done his research into Sunderland back then and knew his stuff about Aouchiche, but either way, I think this is a good move for him and a good fit.
One down, about twenty to go — we’ve got lots of players to get rid of!
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John Wilson says…
My overriding feeling is that I’m pleased for Adil, as Aberdeen are a decent team and standard for him.
He was a grafter and he always gave 100% when he turned out for us. I don’t think he’ll ever be Premier League standard, but he was certainly a Championship-level player and hopefully he’ll settle well in Scotland and impress enough for them to make it a permanent move.
He’s one of the more attractive squad players we need to offload, and there are others that I wonder if we’ll loan out or sell on!
Tom Albrighton says…
The overriding feeling on this one is it should be a shrewd move for all parties.
Aouchiche was never in line to make an impact for Sunderland last season beyond his ‘break glass in case of emergency’ cameo mid-season when all other options were exhausted, so it was even less likely he would be offered any kind of chance in the division above.
That said, a move to Aberdeen should provide a solution for both parties with a future fee involved in the deal.
At that level, Aouchiche — should his attitude be correct — should be head and shoulders above the level he’ll face outside that of Celtic, which in turn will hopefully be enough to convince Aberdeen to part with their cash.
Aouchiche won’t be the last to be forced into finding pastures new this summer but providing players with moves where they’re set up perfectly to succeed can only benefit both the player and the club.
Sunderland AFC v Sheffield United FC - Sky Bet Championship Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images