Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has implemented a strategy of picking up young players and developing them during his time at the club.

The Black Cats chief has led the club back to the Championship and they are still within a shot of making the play-offs, with a view to being promoted to the Premier League, with one game left to play.

Last summer, Speakman brought in the likes of Amad Diallo, on loan, Jack Clarke, Aji Alese, Abdoullah Ba, Daniel Ballard, and Jewison Bennette, among others.

His investments are starting to pay off from a footballing and financial perspective and one player who has proven to be an astute addition is central midfielder Ba.

How much is Abdoullah Ba worth?

At the time of his move to Sunderland in August of last year, Football Transfers placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €200k (£177k) with that indicating that the club picked him up at an excellent time before his market price began to soar.

Less than a full season later, Football Transfers has set his xTV at €4.4m (£3.9m), meaning that his value has rocketed by a whopping 2,100% from last year.

ba-sunderland-championship-black-cats-speakman-mowbray

The £4.5k-per-week gem arrived from Le Havre at the age of 19 with 12 senior league starts to his name in the second division of French football and thus did not come in as a ready-made star with guarantees he would be able to light up the Championship in his debut season.

However, the French "pearl" - as dubbed by scout Jacek Kulig - has enjoyed a positive first year with the Black Cats. The maestro has played 26 times in the league, starting eight, and scored his first goal in a 1-0 win away at Norwich earlier this year.

Ba ranks in the top 8% of players in his position in the next eight leagues outside the major five divisions for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90 over the last 365 days. This shows that the youngster is exceptional at progressing the ball up the pitch by taking players on and being direct.

These statistics, when you consider his age, show that the midfielder has had a successful first term on the pitch. Hopefully, Tony Mowbray will be able to continue to develop him in the years to come.

Speakmancertainly struck gold with the signing of Ba as his performances have been promising and his soaring market value proves that the club have made an excellent investment that could produce a significant profit further down the line.