Overlooked Sunderland star is now becoming an even bigger flop than Adingra

No one can doubt that Sunderland have had a phenomenal first season back in the Premier League after they confirmed their survival earlier this month.

The Black Cats also held Manchester United, who are set to be in the Champions League next season, to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Regis Le Bris has successfully built a team that can compete week-in-week-out in the top-flight, and the next step is to push further up the table next season.

In order to improve the squad and ensure that they can kick on again in the 2026/27 campaign, Sunderland must learn from where they went wrong in the previous summer transfer window.

Whilst the likes of Nordi Mukiele, Granit Xhaka, and Brian Brobbey have been successes on Wearside, Simon Adingra flopped badly with the Black Cats.

The warning signs Sunderland ignored with Simon Adingra

The Ivorian forward looked like a terrific signing for Sunderland on paper when they paid £21m to sign him from Brighton, because he had two seasons of Premier League experience and came through the door as a ‘proven’ talent in the division.

There were warning signs there for Le Bris and the recruitment team, though, because Adingra’s form fell off from the 2023/24 to the 2024/25 campaign for Brighton.

The 24-year-old attacker joined Sunderland for big money off the back of declining on the pitch in the Premier League, and that decline continued in the first half of this season.

Adingra scored one goal and provided zero assists in 14 Premier League games for the Black Cats before being sent out on loan to Monaco, who have an option to sign him permanently for £16m this summer.

The Monaco loanee is not the only player who has struggled at the Stadium of Light since joining last summer, though, as there is another signing who looks like an even bigger flop.

The Sunderland player who is becoming a bigger flop than Simon Adingra

Sunderland could make a £5m loss on Adingra if the French side make his deal permanent in the upcoming transfer window, but they may end up taking an even bigger loss on another player.

The Black Cats paid a club-record fee of £27m to sign central midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg last summer, and he was completely overlooked on Saturday.

Le Bris left the Senegal international on the bench for the full 90 minutes, opting for a midfield of Noah Sadiki, Granit Xhaka, and Enzo Le Fee, and that came after he only played 18 minutes off the bench against Wolves earlier this month.

Diarra may have been overlooked against the Red Devils because he has offered very little to the team offensively or defensively throughout the season in the Premier League.

Despite being signed for a club-record fee, the 22-year-old has not offered consistent quality on the ball, underperforming his xG and failing to create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates in 18 league outings.

On top of that, Diarra has not looked up to the physicality of the Premier League. Less than one tackle made per game and a duel success rate of 45% suggests that opposition midfielders find it far too easy to get the better of him.

The 22-year-old midfielder is fast becoming an even bigger flop than Adingra because he cost £6m more than the former Brighton forward, and has been just as ineffective, if not even more so, on the pitch.

Unless the Senegal international drastically improves his performances, Sunderland may have to consider what to do with him in the summer transfer window, as he does not look suited to the Premier League on the evidence of this season.

If they do decide to cash in on him, it would be interesting to see if they will lose more than the £6m that they look set to lose on Adingra, as few clubs will be impressed by his performances for Sunderland.