Sunderland AFC must rue £13.6m transfer mistake along with these 4 others | OneFootball

FLW looks at five of Sunderland's worst transfer mishaps

Sunderland are enjoying a fine first season under Regis Le Bris' management, with the Black Cats among the front-runners for promotion as we head into the business end of proceedings.

After an extremely underwhelming 16th-place finish in last season's Championship table, a youthful Mackems outfit have continuously flourished under the Frenchman, who has improved several players he inherited in the summer, as well as having two strong recruitment drives in the summer and winter windows.

Of course, the standout addition comes in the form of Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee, who could move to the Stadium of Light permanently for a reported £19m fee if the club's eight-year exile from the Premier League comes to an end, whilst top scorer Wilson Isidor also made his loan switch from Zenit St Petersburg permanent in recent days.

Le Bris, Kyril-Louis Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman deserve plenty of kudos for the way they have moulded one of the second tier's strongest squads in such a short period, with the aforementioned potential investment for Le Fee, a real statement of intent.

However, there have been plenty of occasions where the hierarchy on Wearside have got things drastically wrong, and with that in mind, Football League World looks at five of Sunderland's worst ever transfer mishaps.

Didier Ndong

The aforementioned deal for Le Fee could see him become Sunderland's record addition, but for now, that is a tag which belongs to Gabonese midfielder, Didier Ndong.

And, it's fair to say, the 48-time international never justified why then-boss David Moyes garnered a £13.6m figure to secure his services from FC Lorient, where he had featured on 46 occasions.

Ndong went on to make 54 appearances for the Black Cats, with his solitary goal coming in a 4-0 success over Crystal Palace in 2017, months before a first stint in the Championship since 2007 was confirmed.

Despite coming in for criticism, the midfielder continued to be a regular fixture in Simon Grayson's plans post-relegation, featuring in 14 of his 15 league games in charge, before rarely featuring at the start of Chris Coleman's tenure, which would culminate in back-to-back relegations.

During this period, Ndong moved on loan to Premier League side Watford on loan, with the Hornets having an option-to-buy inserted in the deal, but he failed to make a single appearance at Vicarage Road.

Whilst Sunderland had begun their first League One campaign under Jack Ross in strong fashion, the club were locked in a dispute with their rarely-seen record signing, before eventually agreeing to part ways in October 2018.

Jack Rodwell

Jack Rodwell was once one of the country's most sought-after midfielders, having joined Manchester City from Everton in 2012 for £12m, before going on to play an extremely brief part in the Blues' Premier League title success of 2014.

In the off-season, the Southport-born man would move to the Stadium of Light for £10m, but rarely showcased his full potential in front of the Sunderland faithful across three seasons of top-flight football, which came to an end in May 2017.

Rodwell still had two years left on his contract as Sunderland returned to the Championship, and would continue to earn a £70,000 per-week figure, but he would only make two appearances in a second relegation campaign, being labelled as the club's "worst ever mistake" by cult hero, Marco Gabbiadini.

However, after making 76 appearances in four years for the Wearside outfit, the club and Rodwell eventually reached an agreement to part ways in June 2018.

Ricky Alvarez

Argentinian winger Ricky Alvarez was the subject of one of the most bizarre transfer dealings in the Black Cats' history, having initially joined on loan from Italian giants, Inter Milan, in the summer of 2014.

The winger made a total of 17 appearances for the club, with the bulk of those being solid, if not spectacular, performances, with his solitary goal coming in a FA Cup Fourth Round replay success over Fulham.

However, a knee injury which was sustained weeks after signing on loan with a view to a permanent move if Sunderland avoided relegation meant that Alvarez' overall gametime was limited, which meant Sunderland weren't willing to pay the reported obligation of €10.5m amid strong fitness concerns.

However, after losing the first stage of a legal battle, the Black Cats were forced to pay Inter a €2.5m sum, as well as being ordered to pay the 'Nerazzurri' and Alvarez further costs in 2017 and 2020.

Alvarez's former side, Velez Sarsfield, were also owed €362,500 as a result of FIFA's 'Solidarity Mechanism', with the winger coming through the ranks at the Buenos Aires-based side.

Will Grigg

Will Grigg had been associated with bags of goals in League One through his records with MK Dons and Wigan Athletic, but the Northern Ireland international couldn't replicate such form in Red and White.

Grigg was signed for a reported £4m sum in January 2019, which at the time was a divisional record, with the hope that he could give Jack Ross further ammunition to earn an immediate return to the Championship.

However, the experienced frontman couldn't live up to the 'Will Grigg's on Fire' chant at the Stadium of Light, scoring just five times in his first 22 appearances for the club.

The following season saw Grigg net just three times in 27 appearances as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to an early halt, with Sunderland missing out on the top six through a points-per-game ruling.

The Solihull-born striker then admitted that he "probably should not have moved," from the Brick Community Stadium, as his final two seasons saw him loaned out to MK Dons and Rotherham United, before joining the former of those clubs permanently for the second time in his career after being released by the Black Cats.

Emmanuel Eboue

Emmanuel Eboue is best known for his time at Arsenal, but his second stint on English shores couldn't have gone any worse.

Having departed the Emirates Stadium in 2011, the Ivorian would spend four years on the books of Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he would make 101 appearances and win five major trophies - including two Süper Lig titles.

After being released by the Istanbul-based outfit in the summer of 2015, Eboue lasted nine months as a free agent, before signing for the Black Cats in March 2016 under Sam Allardyce.

And, whilst the man who eventually went on to become England manager for one game, was able to secure survival at the expense of Newcastle United, the full-back's time as a Sunderland player didn't go to plan.

Just 22 days after penning a short-term contract, Eboue was released by the club after featuring once for the Under-23's, as he was banned by FIFA for a year after failing to pay debts owed to his previous representative, Sébastien Boisseau.