When Simon Adingra was weighing up the attractiveness of a move to the Stadium of Light against the various other options that had been presented to him, he spoke to his Ivorian national team-mate, Amad, to find out what he thought about life on Wearside.
Amad spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Sunderland, and regards his season in the North-East as the moment when he turned his career around after a previous loan spell at Rangers had been unsuccessful.
The 23-year-old might be back at Manchester United now, but he regularly describes Sunderland as his ‘second club’ and his comments to Adingra could hardly have been more effusive. If Adingra needed some persuasion before talking to his compatriot, by the time he had finished the conversation, his mind was well and truly made up.
“I know him (Amad) very well from the national team,” said Adingra, who signed a five-year deal with the [Black Cats](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/sunderland) yesterday to complete his move from Brighton, which involves an initial payment of £18m and a further £2.5m of potential add-ons. “I spoke to him, and he spoke very well about this club. He told me how big this club is.
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“I can’t wait to get started now. I am here in Sunderland to be part of the project, and I hope we achieve greatness together.”
Adingra also held lengthy conversations with head coach Regis Le Bris and majority owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, with the pair conveying their vision of where they want to take Sunderland in the next few seasons.
Their words appealed to Adingra, who had come close to joining Sunderland in January, only for talks to collapse on deadline day.
“It was the project of the club,” said the winger, in an interview with Sunderland's official media channels. “I spoke to the gaffer and the owner of the club, and I think they showed me interest. That’s why I decided to come and be part of the project.”
Having been told that Brighton were willing to move him on, Adingra was inundated with offers from the continent. However, having spent the last two seasons in the Premier League football with the Seagulls, the 23-year-old did not want to turn his back on English football.
“The Premier League was one of my dreams, since I was a kid,” he said. “So, me playing in the Premier League is living my dream. I think I am pursuing my dream, and now I am here in Sunderland.
“It’s a big challenge. You play with good players and you face good opponents. But that will help you improve and develop. It’s a really good league.”