Ajax signs Simon Adingra on loan from Sunderland with buy option

Ajax has secured a season-long loan deal for Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra from Sunderland, bringing in a player with Premier League pedigree as the Dutch transfer window ticks toward its deadline. The arrangement includes a €16 million buy option that could make the move permanent.

The total outlay for Ajax comes to roughly €3.8 million, covering the loan fee and contributions toward Adingra’s salary. For Sunderland, it’s a chance to get a high-earner off the books while keeping the door open to a meaningful return on their initial investment.

Why Ajax moved now

The urgency behind this deal traces back to September 1, 2026, when Ajax lost Mika Godts to Paris Saint-Germain. That transfer ripped a hole on the left flank that the Amsterdam club has been trying to patch ever since.

Adingra, a 24-year-old who can operate across the attacking line, fits the profile Ajax needed. He brings experience from 74 Premier League appearances with 9 goals to his name, along with over 30 international caps for Ivory Coast.

He’s expected to complete a medical in Amsterdam alongside defender Thilo Kehrer before the window shuts.

Sunderland’s expensive gamble

Sunderland acquired Adingra from Brighton in July 2025 for an initial fee reported between £18 million and £21 million. That made him one of the club’s most significant signings as they looked to establish themselves in the Premier League.

Adingra’s time on Wearside has been marked by limited playing time, and the club had already loaned him to AS Monaco in early 2026 in an attempt to get him regular minutes. That Monaco spell produced 17 appearances, 3 goals, and 2 assists. Monaco chose not to exercise their purchase option. The initial loan fee Monaco paid was approximately £870,000.

Adingra’s contract with Sunderland runs until 2030, which gives the club time and leverage.

Adingra’s path to Amsterdam

Before the Premier League and before the transfer fees with commas in them, Adingra came through the Right to Dream academy, the Ghana-based development program that has become a pipeline for European football talent. His journey from there to Brighton, then Sunderland, then Monaco on loan, and now Ajax reads like a winding road rather than a straight trajectory.

A minor injury kept him out of Sunderland’s opening fixtures for the 2026/27 season, but he’s reportedly fit to join Ajax immediately.

What to watch

The €16 million buy option is the number that will define how this story ends. Ajax paying that figure would represent a meaningful discount compared to what Sunderland originally spent, but it would at least allow the English club to recover a significant chunk of their outlay.

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