Scottish Premiership reporter Ryan Cryle has now shared what he's heard about Aberdeen's record move to sign Sunderland midfielder Adil Aouchiche as the attacking midfielder continues to struggle out on loan in Scotland.
The Black Cats sent the Frenchman out on loan in the summer after putting together their own squad full of in-depth quality. Those in Wearside handed Regis Le Bris a squad capable of survival and more and have watched on as he's taken them to new heights in the Premier League ever since.
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Sat as high as fourth in England's top flight, Sunderland have the chance to move into the top two if they defeat Arsenal and become the first side in eight games to score against the Gunners.
Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus hasn't hidden his ambitions for the club after such a strong start either, telling reporters that the Black Cats have set their sights on a top 10 finish in their first season back in the Premier League.
“I would say definitely a little bit [that the great start could affect Sunderland’s approach in January]. If we’re in the bottom three by Christmas or we’re in the top six by Christmas, that changes the ambition a little bit.
“We’re currently preparing for all scenarios, but we’ve been doing that since the summer. Hopefully, we’ll be going into the January window with a top ten finish in mind and we will prepare and execute the window to give us the best chance.
"We didn’t set ourselves a budget, we just knew we had to go for it, or else we would go back to the championship. We hope for a top ten finish.”
Whilst they continue to benefit from the players that they welcomed, however, Aberdeen are struggling after agreeing a loan deal to sign Aouchiche from Sunderland in the summer.
Reporter shares update on Aberdeen's Aouchiche move
Speaking to Mackem News, Cryle admitted that Aouchiche will have to do more to earn a permanent move to Aberdeen in what would be the club's record deal at £1.5m.
The Aberdeen reporter said: "In terms of output, Aouchiche’s performances were quite exciting to begin with, without the final pass/shot, but left you thinking: Once he gets going, he’ll be a player.
"However, in what has been a generally dismal start to the season for Aberdeen as a collective domestically and in Europe, it feels like Aouchiche has increasingly struggled to play any active role in games.
"There’s no rush to do a deal. However, £1.5m would be a club record fee for Aberdeen, and it seems pretty obvious to me that Aouchiche will need to do a lot more over the remainder of the season to justify such an outlay."
Aberdeen sit as low as ninth in the Scottish Premiership and Aouchiche's performances have hardly helped. The 23-year-old has scored just one goal and assisted another two in 14 appearances in all competitions. Given the expectations that were placed on his shoulders, there's no denying that he's struggling to make his mark.
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