Ji Dong-won

In June 2011, Ji agreed a deal to join Sunderland of the English Premier League as a summer transfer after impressing manager Steve Bruce with his performance in the 2011 Asian Cup , in which he scored four goals and provided two assists in six games. [ 12 ] He signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £2 million). [ 13 ] Upon joining the club, Ji was given a number 17 shirt ahead of the new season. [ 14 ] Ji made his first appearance for his new club in a 1–1 draw with Arminia Bielefeld in the club's pre-season tour of Germany. [ 15 ] He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a pre-season friendly against Darlington. [ 16 ] Ji made his league debut for Sunderland on 13 August 2011 coming on for Asamoah Gyan in the 66th minute against Liverpool . [ 17 ] Ji scored his first Premier League goal in the 90th minute against Chelsea from a Nicklas Bendtner assist on 10 September 2011, to which Sunderland lost 2–1. [ 18 ] Just 12 minutes after coming on as substitute in the second–half against Manchester City on 1 January 2012, Ji scored the winning goal in the 90th minute, in a 1–0 win. [ 19 ] However, his first team opportunities at Sunderland was limited, due to his fitness and he appeared invariably as a late substitute. [ 20 ] As a result, he played in the reserve side to regain his match fitness. [ 21 ] Towards end of the 2011–12 season, Ji's first team opportunities was further limited by new Manager Martin O'Neill . [ 22 ] Despite this, Ji went on to make the total of 21 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions. Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Ji was told by Manager O’Neill that he needs to develop in the Premier League physically if he is fully deliver on his potential. [ 24 ] However, he failed to appear in the first team throughout the first half of the season and appeared in the reserve side instead. [ 25 ] In the 2013–14 season, Ji made his first Sunderland appearance in over a year, where he came on as a second-half subst — Wikipedia