Sunderland Accused of ‘Broken Promises’ Over Transfer as Summer Window Buzzword Phrase Strikes Again

Sunderland have been accused of “breaking a promise” over their efforts to sign NEC Nijmegen defender Jenson Seelt in the summer window.

The Black Cats have been busy this summer in their recruitment as they have been desperate to make their squad Premier League ready.

They were promoted from the EFL Championship last season after finishing fourth and coming through the playoffs.

Manager Régis Le Bris has wanted to build a strong core of players to compete and they have started well enough so far with two wins and one loss from three fixtures.

Sunderland have spent money on their team this summer, too, with the likes of Habib Diarra, Simon Adingra, Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee among others arriving at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland accused of breaking promise over sale of Jenson Seelt

In fact, the club have spent a whopping £163.4million on incomings to bolster their ranks. They have also shipped out as many as 12 players including loans.

They did, however, leave one club furious after reportedly reneging on a deal to send Dutchman Jenson Seelt to NEC Nijmegen if their claims are to be believed.

Seelt was closing in on a permanent switch back to his homeland with Nijmegen, according to their general manager Wilco van Schaik.

However, as has been a buzzword phrase throughout this summer, they have accused their sellers of “breaking a promise” over the defender who eventually moved on loan to Wolfsburg instead.

It’s not the first alleged broken promise after Alexander Isak accused Newcastle of the same.

Yoane Wissa also claimed Brentford went back on their word before he did eventually make the switch to the Magpies on deadline day in a £55m deal.

But this move for Seelt has left NEC furious and Mr Van Schaik spoke publicly with his complaints.

Why NEC Nijmegen were furious over Sunderland transfer snub

“I wasn’t happy about that,” Van Schaik told ESPN. “And certainly not Carlos [Aalbers, NEC’s technical director]. The deal was a done deal.

“We closed the deal with Roefs, and then we also made a verbal agreement with Sunderland that we would acquire Seelt for this amount.

“They said they’d keep him for a while because he had to play. Okay, no problem. But it took forever.

“Last Sunday, they said they had so many injuries that it wasn’t allowed anymore. They called again on Friday to say they were going to buy two more. So he’s back.

“Well, we’d already made the arrangements, and suddenly we saw him yesterday afternoon in the Wolfsburg shirt. That’s not how you do business.

“I’ve never seen Carlos so angry. He texted Sunderland this morning saying he regretted selling Roefs to them. That’s not how you do business. I know Carlos to be very honest and sincere, and I’ve rarely seen him so angry. He was done with it.”