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SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 31: Four new Sunderland signings come out on the pitch at half time (L-R) Abdoullah Ba, Edouard Michut, Jewison Benette and Amad Diallo during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Rotherham at Stadium of Light on August 31, 2022 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) | Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Former Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman is headed to F.C. Copenhagen, and while the club wouldn’t have reached its current heights without him, there are plenty of misses in the list of 57 players signed during his four-and-a-half years in charge.
Let’s take a look at the ones that haven’t made the grade.
10. Ahmed Abdullahi
This one is probably a bit mean, but he cost €1.5 million, it’s been two years, and not only has he not played for the first team, but he’s only made the bench twice.
He’s one of three players signed by Speakman never to play for the club – at least not yet, in Abdullahi’s case.
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He’s already 22, older than Jocelyn Ta Bi, Eliezer Mayenda, Chemsdine Talbi, Noah Sadiki and Chris Rigg. He shares a birthday with Habib Diarra.
On the other hand, while he’s only played for the U21s six times, he’s scored six goals, and there are still two more years on his contract for him to earn playing time – or at least improve his transfer value.
9. Jayden Danns
Zero. Nada. Zilch.
That’s how much Danns played for Sunderland after a back injury showed up during his medical.
Not only did Danns never play a minute for the Black Cats, he barely visited Sunderland, rehabbing with his parent club, Liverpool.
8. Jewison Bennette
We all loved him, and I’ll never forget seeing him score during pre-season in San Antonio and getting to congratulate him in person after the game.
That said, 21 appearances, two starts, two goals, and a reported €500k weren’t enough return on the initial €1.30 million investment.
But we’ll always have the triple pirouette.
7. Milan Aleksic
This is going to sound crazy, but Aleksic’s €3.50 million fee was the third-highest under Speakman’s stewardship, behind only Enzo Le Fée and Wilson Isidor.
Aleksic, who is headed on loan to Partizan Belgrade in his native Serbia, should arguably be lower given that outlay and only 10 appearances over two years. That said, he’s been trusted to be on the bench 37 more times, and Partizan have an option to buy at the end of the loan, so some of that money may come back to Sunderland.
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6. Nazariy Rusyn
Though he cost a little less than Aleksic – €2.50 million – I’m putting him lower because he has one more goal contribution for Sunderland than Aleksic, while playing three times as many minutes and as a striker.
Rusyn has one year left on his contract, and Sunderland may or may not get anything back for him.
5. Timothée Pembélé
Pembélé arrived on deadline day in 2023 – along with Rusyn and Mason Burstow – for €1.0 million.
Despite his Paris Saint-Germain pedigree, Pembélé never established himself at Sunderland, appearing only eight times for a total of 287 minutes.
Pembélé has been loaned to Le Havre twice and has two years left on his contract.
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4. Jermain Defoe
We are delighted to welcome Jermain Defoe back to the Stadium of Light on an initial contract until the end of the 2021-22 season!#SAFC | #DefoeHomecoming
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) February 1, 2022
This one hurts.
A shocking return – seven matches, 249 minutes, no goals, and a shocking retirement.
3. Joe Anderson
After arriving from Everton in January 2023 for an undisclosed fee, Anderson played only seven times and 228 minutes for the Black Cats, sandwiched around a year on loan at Shrewsbury Town.
Anderson did make two starts – one at the beginning of the 2024/25 season in the League Cup, and another at the close of the Championship campaign as Régis Le Bris rotated the squad before the play-offs.
Anderson moved to League Two Barrow in January for an undisclosed fee. He played 14 times as Barrow were relegated to the National League. After agreeing to a mutual termination of his contract, he landed at Accrington Stanley on 23 June.
2. Ian Poveda
I never read anyone talk positively about this one from the start. He may have come in on a free, but there were consistent concerns from the beginning about his wages, which by all counts were very high.
For that, Sunderland got one start, six appearances, and 81 minutes in return.
The club couldn’t offload him in the autumn and finally pushed him on to Internacional de Bogotá in February for an undisclosed amount.
1. Isaac Lihadji
Lihadji’s fee, coming from Lille in January 2023, was undisclosed, but after making the squad 13 times, six appearances, 79 minutes, and lasting less than seven months, he was off to Al-Duhail SC in Qatar – again for an undisclosed amount.
Speakman spun his departure positively in the club announcement.
“After considering all the factors, we believe this represents an incredibly positive deal for the Club, and it’s a transfer that will also create immediate opportunities for us in the market.”
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Who do you think was Speakman’s worst transfer?
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