The Sweden international Ola Toivonen has answered Dick Advocaat’s call to arms by signing a season-long loan deal with Sunderland. The 29-year-old attacking midfielder, who played under the Dutchman at PSV Eindhoven, has joined from the Ligue 1 side Rennes.
Advocaat said: “I worked with Ola at PSV, so I know him well. He is a national team player with a lot of experience, an attacking midfielder who can score goals and is good in the air – he will bring something different to the team.”
Advocaat also said he is suffering because of “crazy” spending on “lower than average” players by Sunderland in the past.
The 67-year-old belatedly accepted the owner Ellis Short’s offer of an extended stay on Wearside after securing Premier League survival on a short-term deal last season. He has spent the months since then pleading for up to half a dozen “quality” players to strengthen a squad that has struggled in each of the past two seasons. However, he accepts the Texan businessman’s reluctance to spend following less than effective investment in recent years on players.
Advocaat told the Sunderland Echo: “We had a big past here and I know a little bit about the salary of players – average players, lower than average players – and that’s crazy. People who bought those kind of players for those transfer fees and gave them those salaries didn’t care about the club.
No comments:
Post a Comment