Sunderland had a howler with Jermaine Lens

Sunderland’s checklist of infamous switch errors is one which might arguably be blamed for the predicament they at the moment discover themselves in; desperately making an attempt to return to the Premier League after slumping all the best way to League One.

With the likes of Jack Rodwell and Didier Ndong certain to steal headlines for his or her well-publicised misdeeds while on the membership, somebody like Jermaine Lens may go considerably beneath the radar as an terrible Black Cats deal.

Is Jermaine Lens certainly one of Sunderland’s worst ever offers?

Signed by Dick Advocaat in 2015 for an £8m charge, this represented fairly a big outlay for a comparatively unproven winger.

He nonetheless stays of their top ten most costly transfers of all time and but delivered little or no throughout his brief stint on the Stadium of Mild.

The season previous to his signing he had scored nine and assisted 12 in all competitions, and there was hope that he might be the person to maintain Sunderland away from the drop for the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, he would spend only one depressing season on Wearside, the place he would rating three and help one other three in a yr that was marred by injuries, amongst different points.

They managed to evade relegation by simply two factors that yr, however they had been to not be so fortunate the season following.

By that time, Lens was lengthy gone. A mortgage transfer adopted by a reported £6m charge for his companies, it nonetheless marked an insane waste of cash for one wholly disappointing season.

Not solely was he a letdown on the pitch, however David Moyes got here out to blast his conduct as “disgraceful” after the Dutchman stated that it might make his life simpler ought to his dad or mum membership be relegated.

It’s a testomony to his capacity that he’s now playing his football at a semi-professional stage for French facet FC Versailles.

To suppose that Sunderland spent £8m to usher in a participant that confirmed a lot promise, solely now to see the place he has fallen is a testomony to how terrible their recruitment course of was.

It has price them every part, and they’re nonetheless paying for it at present.