It's no secret this season that Sunderland have struggled to find a potent striker to lead the line, never being able to fill the huge void left behind by Ross Stewart exiting for Southampton.
Stewart hasn't been blessed with the best luck since moving to St. Mary's however, with injury issues galore only seeing him make two appearances for the Saints this campaign, but the wasteful Black Cats have never replaced their former lethal Scotsman all the same.
A conveyer belt of failed attackers in Nazariy Rusyn, Mason Burstow and more have all struggled to become the star centre-forward Sunderland have craved this dismal Championship season, with a new striker a must on the Black Cats shopping list this summer.
Sunderland will hope they don't fall victim to a similar transfer blunder like this one back in 2015, with the Wearside outfit gaining what they thought was a prolific forward for £5m only for him to go all goal-shy playing at the Stadium of Light.
Danny Graham's transfer to Sunderland
Sunderland must have thought they'd hit the jackpot when Danny Graham was unveiled as a major signing mid-way through the 2012/13 Premier League season, having been deadly for his ex-employers in Swansea City before moving on.
12 goals from 36 games the campaign before this deal was finalised would have caught the eye of the Black Cats, alongside Graham's past goalscoring heroics at Watford before his spell with the Swans which saw him score 41 goals from 98 Hornets games.
Enshrined in Swans folklore for his dramatic winner against Arsenal during his final full season in Wales too, Graham would unfortunately flop in his new surroundings after once being thought of as an effective goal-machine elsewhere.
Graham would only line up for Sunderland 13 times during the second half of his first season, failing to hit the ground running with zero goals for his efforts.
Loaned out to Hull City, Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers, it wouldn't be until the 2014/15 campaign that Graham would finally break his duck for the Wearside outfit in a deal that is now seen as a colossal blunder.
The 6 foot dud would only ever score one more strike for Sunderland to take his goals total to a pitiful two from 59 games, even when returning to the Black Cats in a random loan spell during the 2020/21 season when the side had fallen all the way down to League One.
Graham's wage costs during his initial wretched stint would also have hurt Sunderland alongside his lack of clinical finishing, earning £12.5k-per-week more than what Daniel Ballard does currently, according to Capology.
Graham's wage at Sunderland
The former Swansea man would rake in a high £27.5k-per-week wage for the Black Cats during their Premier League days ten years ago, which would make him the highest earner by over £10k-per-week now in the current Sunderland camp.
Graham would also find himself earning nearly double that of dependable centre-back figure Ballard back in 2013, who is now being touted for a move away from Sunderland after a poor collective second-tier season just gone still saw the ex-Arsenal man shine.
1. Jack Clarke
£16.9k-per-week
2. Daniel Ballard
£15k-per-week
3. Bradley Dack
£15k-per-week
4. Patrick Roberts
£12.5k-per-week
5. Anthony Patterson
£10k-per-week
Only missing three games all season long in the Championship, an impressive feat considering the chopping and changing of managers on Wearside, Ballard could make Sunderland a healthy profit this summer if sold on all whilst earning significantly less than what Graham pocketed.
Graham will just be thankful that this disappointing patch of his career didn't upset his flow of goals moving onto Blackburn Rovers right after Sunderland, bagging 57 strikes whilst lining up alongside ex-Riversiders and current Black Cats midfielder Bradley Dack as a teammate.
Sunderland must consider selling “magic” star who earns 4x Hume’s wage
Sunderland could soon sell on this star who is a high earner at the Stadium of Light.
ByKelan SarsonMay 1, 2024