On this day in 2016, Didier Ndong became Sunderland's club record transfer for around £13.6 million. It was a classic deadline day panic buy, and is one of the club's many transfer blunders from around that period in time.
The Gabon international was signed in the Premier League, with the club breaking their transfer record to sign him, rather than spending less money to buy fan favourite Yann M’Vila permanently. None of us had ever heard of him, but surely for that money he must have been a hidden gem.
Ndong made his debut as a substitute in a 3-0 defeat to Everton, before becoming a regular feature in David Moyes’ relegated side. His first and only goal for the club was a fantastic long-range strike against Crystal Palace in a 4-0 win at Selhurst Park, which was one of the few highlights of that dreadful season.
Initially, Ndong stayed with Sunderland in the Championship, playing regularly. His final appearance for the Black Cats was one to forget, getting sent off against Cardiff City. The midfielder then strangely joined Premier League Watford on loan in January, but this move did not go to plan.
Ndong didn’t play a single minute for the Hornets, only making the bench at Vicarage Road an underwhelming three times in half a season.
When the squad returned for their first pre-season in League One, Ndong did not. He’d gone AWOL in an attempt to force through a move away from Sunderland. When he eventually did return, new owner Stewart Donald immediately sacked him. Ndong then went on to join Guingamp in France, before moving to Dijon where he featured semi-regularly. Chasing one last payday, Didier has recently followed the trend of jumping to the Saudi League - signing for Al-Riyadh SC.
Ultimately, Didier Ndong will be remembered on Wearside for all the wrong reasons, and represents the mistakes of the Ellis Short era. A bang average player at best with a stinking attitude, who we paid far over the odds for. It is very telling that on his Wikipedia page, the 'dismissal' subsection is much longer than his on-the-pitch details for any club he's played for.
