Ajax director of football Alex Kroes will have been left delighted when Sunderland took Bertrand Traoré off his hands on deadline day.
That’s according to journalist Mike Verweij, [via Voetbal Primeur](https://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuws/1689633/verweij-toen-moet-kroes-gedacht-hebben-nu-moet-ik-traor-snel-verkopen.html), who believes the late deal will have suited Kroes down to the ground.
Sunderland did a double deal with Ajax at the very end of the summer transfer window, sealing a deal for striker Brian Brobbey before then doing a last-minute one for winger Bertrand Traoré as well.
The double deal very much appeared to be a last-minute, unplanned effort to bolster their forward line before the window slammed shut.
Kroes himself has admitted that he went to bed on Sunday evening unaware of what was to come, insisting that they had barely spoken about Sunderland before the madness on the final day of the window.
Instead, he struck a double deal with them and then moved himself, using the funds he had freed up to bring Kasper Dolberg back to the club from Anderlecht. He previously played for the Dutch giants from 2015 to 2019.
He’s an improvement on the duo sold to Sunderland, at least according to Verweij, who believes that Kroes will have been delighted at the deadline day opportunity.
_“I think Kroes was very shocked when it was suggested within the club: if Brobbey is gone, we can play in the Champions League, Eredivisie, and KNVB Cup with Weghorst and Traoré as second strikers,”_ he said.
_“Then he must have thought I have to sell Traoré really quickly, because then I might actually get permission to sign Kasper Dolberg._
_“People really thought it was a great idea, to start the season with Traoré and Weghorst. That wasn’t a good idea, of course, so I think they can ultimately count themselves lucky with Dolberg’s arrival._
_“I can imagine board members saying: The financial position is still so shaky, very big steps are being taken, but just do it with these two (Weghorst and Traoré)._
_“Then, as Kroes and Marijn Beuker, you obviously have to fight very clearly with technical commissioner Danny Blind and say: No, this is obviously not good enough. We want Dolberg.”_