Phil Smith has dropped a claim regarding the circumstances behind Leon Dajaku's move to Sunderland. 

What's the talk?

Sunderland reporter Smith has dished out the inside track on Union Berlin's decision to send Dajaku on loan to the Black Cats.

The journalist has revealed that Union believe the youngster has potential to become a good player and did not send him out on loan due to issue with his quality or attitude.

He told The Roar Podcast, via This is Futbol: “They [Union Berlin] clearly feel that while it hasn’t quite worked out for him there yet, they obviously believe he’s a player of potential and who has future value.

“And from what I’ve heard, I don’t think it was necessarily a form issue or an attitude issue or anything like that from Berlin. It sounds like he just had a difficult time with a couple of niggling injuries. It sounds like he had a little bit of an illness at a bad time as well.

“So I don’t think it was one at all where they’re looking to rush him out the door. They think he’s a good player with a potential value, but they also just feel it is probably best for him to go somewhere where he might get regular minutes.”

Excitement

Sunderland fans will surely be excited by these claims from Smith. It shows that Union have not shipped him out to England because they do not think he is good enough, but rather that they believe that he has the potential to grow into a top player and needs the regular minutes which they cannot provide him in the Bundesliga.

The 20-year-old has made six appearances in the German top flight, with two apiece for Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and Union. This highlights the potential each of those clubs have seen in him, particularly at Bayern given their size and stature in the country.

Upon Dajaku's arrival at the Stadium of Light, Johnson hailed him as a 'top prospect' and added that his attitude is exactly what he wants to see at the club.

The manager said: “Leon is a really interesting player – he’s a top prospect with good ability, agility and quality – so we are looking forward to adding him to the squad and working with him. He’s a hungry player that has shown a strong attitude and desire to come to Sunderland and grow with us, which is exactly what we want.”

This is why Sunderland fans should be excited by Union's reasoning behind the loan deal for the £1.6m-rated forward. They seemingly expect him to enjoy a strong season in England to help him fulfil his potential, which could delight Black Cats fans who can now look forward to seeing him display his talents in League One.

Bringing in a promising young player who has already played top-flight football for Bayern is an excellent piece of business on paper for the Wearside club. It is now up to Dajaku to live up to the excitement and anticipation around him in the coming weeks.

In other news, Sunderland avoided key deadline day howler after update on "dangerous" gem