Being a Sunderland fan has never been easy. Whether it be the seemingly never-ending battle against relegation, trouble in the boardroom or a mixture of the two, the club never seems to get things right.
The transfer window has often also proved to be a frustrating time for us, despite there being few competitive games played in August.
It’s a time for relegated clubs to offload the high earners or top flight clubs to sign the squad needed to improve their position – but there is rarely a season goes by where one player leaves that the fans are sad to see go.
In recent years, these have mostly come after loan deals expired – with the club unable to resign the likes of Danny Welbeck, Danny Rose or Marcos Alonso. Sadly, in recent times these players have also never really been replaced with anyone of the same quality.
With Santiago Vergini officially leaving today (and likely to be infamously remembered for his own goal), Read Sunderland looks back at five of the players who the Black Cats with the reluctance of the fans.
