Didier Ibrahim Ndong

On 31 August 2016, Ndong signed for Premier League club Sunderland , on a five-year contract, for a club record transfer fee (excluding add-ons [ 9 ] ) of £13.6 million. [ 10 ] He made his debut on 12 September 2016, in a 3–0 defeat to Everton . [ 11 ] Ndong was a key member of the Sunderland team in his initial season and scored his first goal for Sunderland, on 4 February 2017 in a 4–0 win over Crystal Palace . [ 12 ] The club were later relegated to the Championship for the first time in ten years, following a 1–0 loss to Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light on 29 April 2017. [ 13 ] He initially stayed with Sunderland following their relegation to the Championship playing regularly. On 13 January 2018, he was sent off for a straight red card against Cardiff City in what would be his final appearance for Sunderland ahead of his loan to Watford. Ndong signed for Premier League Watford on loan on 31 January 2018 during the January Transfer Window . [ 14 ] Although signed on a loan, Watford had an option to sign the midfielder on a permanent basis. He was suspended for his first game, following a red card in his final game for Sunderland. However, after the suspension ended, he still did not play for Watford and was an unused substitute only three times during his disappointing four-month loan spell. Sunderland were relegated to EFL League One at the end of the 2017–18 season and a number of high-profile players, including Ndong, expressed their desire to leave the club rather than play in England's third tier. [ 15 ] In May 2018, Sunderland was bought by Stewart Donald who talked publicly about his intention to get fair prices for outgoing players. [ 16 ] Through the summer transfer window of 2018, Ndong was linked to a number of clubs, including Fiorentina , Benfica and Torino , the latter of which agreed a £6.6m fee for the player, but Ndong's personal demands proved to be a stumbling block. [ 17 ] By the time the players were due to return for pre-season training — Wikipedia