The January transfer window is now almost upon us, which provides the perfect opportunity for Sunderland to strengthen as they continue on their quest to secure promotion to the Premier League. The Championship play-offs remain a distinct possibility for the Black Cats, but they currently find themselves three points adrift from Hull City.
Of course, fans love to see their club splash the cash, but there is that element of risk when spending big fees on players, as for a club like the Black Cats, youngsters have played a big part and continue to do so at the Stadium of Light. And, evidence of this is the fact that almost all of Sunderland’s top 20 most expensive signings came before the 2017/18 season.
Nevertheless, Football FanCast have taken a look at the 10 most expensive January window signings that Sunderland have made.
10
Ignacio Scocco (January 2014)
£3m from Internacional
Argentina international Ignacio Scocco joined the Black Cats for a reported £3m as they sought a dramatic great escape from the Premier League drop. Bought under Gustavo Poyet’s management in early 2014 officially for an undisclosed fee, the striker was unable to make a name for himself on Wearside despite the team surviving come the end of the season.
Scocco departed with just eight appearances to his name having only started on two occasions in the FA Cup, without a goal or assist to show for his efforts. This January marks two years since his retirement from the game.
9
Mart Poom (January 2003)
£3.2m from Derby County
Poom originally joined Sunderland on an initial loan back in November of 2002, and the Wearside club soon made that permanent less than two months later as he became what is now the club’s ninth most expensive January signing.
Many fans will remember his iconic goal in the dying embers against his former club Derby County, where the goalkeeper powered a header into the net with the Black Cats trailing at the time.
Overall, the Estonian made 62 appearances for the Black Cats, conceding 57 goals and keeping 25 clean sheets.
8
Alfred N’Diaye (January 2013)
£3-4m from Bursaspor
N’Diaye joined Sunderland to provide some much-needed support in the engine room at the Stadium of Light, but things just didn’t work out. He made just 16 appearances for the Black Cats before being shipped out by Paolo Di Canio.
For someone who cost as much as he did, it really was a disaster as the club made around a £2m loss. And things don’t appear to have gotten too much better for the African midfielder, as he was declared bankrupt in 2019.
7
Andy Reid (January 2008)
Up to £4m from Charlton Athletic
Reid started in blistering form for the Black Cats and was a fan favourite for some, but a succession of fitness problems saw him fall down the pecking order at the Stadium of Light, which led to an emergency loan move to Sheffield United.
He later went on to leave Sunderland on a free transfer to Blackpool.
All in all, he proved to be a good signing, which is backed up by his six goals and 18 assists in 80 appearances in red and white.#
6
Will Grigg (January 2019)
£4m from Wigan Athletic
Signing from then-Championship outfit Wigan while the Black Cats were a League One side, Will Grigg is Sunderland’s most expensive January signing since their Premier League days.
It is reported that their accepted bid – rubber-stamped very close to the winter 2019 deadline – was their eighth attempt at luring the Northern Ireland international over to the Stadium of Light.
Now at non-league side Chesterfield, Grigg racked up just eight goals in 62 Sunderland displays, and after two subsequent loan spells away at MK Dons and Rotherham United, joined the former on a free transfer in the summer of 2022. Sunderland can perhaps forget about his spell now they are a comfortable Championship club and looking on the way up.
5
Claudio Reyna (January 2002)
£4.5m from Rangers
The signing of Claudio Reyna was a big deal for Peter Reid and Sunderland back in 2002, with the loss of Don Hutchison really halting his plans at an important time.
A goal on his debut against Paul Gascoigne’s Everton to win the game for the Black Cats was the best possible start in the red and white stripes. However, the American, who later impressed in the 2002 World Cup, would damage knee ligaments in an October draw between Sunderland and Bolton, which ended up being his last game for the Wearsiders.
He made just 28 appearances on Wearside before joining Manchester City.
4
Lamine Kone (January 2016)
£5m from FC Lorient
The central defender started well on Wearside as he put in a number of impressive displays which helped the Black Cats avoid the drop in the Premier League. But, apart from that, it was a rather unhappy three-and-a-half-year spell for the Ivorian at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland ended up being relegated to the Championship the following season, as when Sam Allardyce left, things just went downhill.
He couldn’t even get into the side in the Championship under a couple of managers, as another relegation followed.
Inevitably, his exit came after Jack Ross decided he wasn’t in his League One plans, which led to a loan and permanent move to Strasbourg after making a total of 72 appearances in England.
3
Danny Graham (January 2013)
£5m from Swansea City
The signing of Danny Graham for around £5m proved to be a massive blunder by the club.
Many fans expected plenty of goals at the Stadium of Light from the Englishman as they’d been accustomed to a rather prolific striker during his time at Swansea. But, that wasn’t the case as he managed just one goal in 42 appearances during his first spell at the club.
Graham ended up leaving on a free transfer after a handful of loan spells away from Wearside.
2
Stephane Sessegnon (January 2011)
£6m from Paris Saint-Germain
The attacking midfielder joined Sunderland in January 2011 for around £6m.
He proved to be a really good buy for the Black Cats as an absolute menace in the final third, with a combination of speed, tricks, finishing and creativity proving too much for even some of the best Premier League defenders. He managed to score an impressive 18 goals and laid on 20 assists for his teammates.
However, Sessegnon, who was one of Sunderland’s highest earners, was let go by Paolo Di Canio so that he could bring in his own men. To be fair, he was unsettled on Wearside for some time, but Sunderland had hoped that by handing him a new four-year contract 12 months before he would settle down. But he still made the decision that he’d had enough.
1
Wahbi Khazri (January 2016)
£9m from Bordeaux
Well, for number one on the list, Wahbi Khazri arguably had one of the worst times at the club.
He made 42 appearances on Wearside but offered little to nothing in the final third, with three goals and two assists.
The Tunisian was one of the top earners at the Stadium of Light, and moving his wages off the books and getting a fee in return was the right move for Jack Ross at the time, as another player from Sunderland’s Premier League splurge who proved to be a waste.
