Sunderland have wasted plenty of money in recent years, all of which likely contributed to their miserable slump down the divisions.
Although they are now showing promising signs of a potential return to the Premier League in the coming years, fans of the club will likely never forget the particular names that rinsed the club whilst offering little in return.
Who was worse for Sunderland?
One such example would be Danny Graham, who Paolo Di Canio unloaded £5m on back in 2013 in the hopes he would add some firepower to his toothless side.
Having scored 12 Premier League goals for Swansea City the season prior, it seemed like they might bring in a lethal forward capable of shining without being surrounded by complete quality.
However, what they got was – in the words of journalist Sam Jones – nothing short of “terrible”.
He featured 13 times during the 2012/13 season and did not score or assist once, before being loaned out various times in an attempt to build confidence.
When that did not work, he was handed a lifeline during the 2014/15 season, where he again played 14 times and managed to score just once.
Ten further games the season following in the league again without a goal sealed his fate, and he was deservedly shipped off to Blackburn Rovers.
The fact that he left on a free makes the transfer that much worse, as they recouped nothing on their initial investment.
He had completely failed with his spell on Wearside, and given his £30k-per-week contract too, he cost the club a total sum of £6.5m.
Another high-profile flop was that of James Vaughan, who set the club back £900,000. Sadly, Graham was arguably even worse than the former Everton man as he actually scored over one goal (two goals) for the club, and was worth a great deal less in the transfer market too.
Plenty of Sunderland’s signings over the last decade have left them having nightmares, but the 37-year-old will be remembered not only as one of the more expensive flops but as one of the most toothless strikers ever seen at the Stadium of Light.
