Wahbi Khazri and Papy Djilobodji are both on loan in Ligue 1 from Championship strugglers Sunderland.
Funds are famously tight at Sunderland right now. So much so that manager Chris Coleman was not allowed to spend a single penny on transfer fees during the January transfer window, instead being limited to loan deals and freebies.
Time will tell whether the likes of Kazenga Lua Lua and Ovie Ejaria will be enough, however, with the Black Cats staring successive relegations in the face.
It does not help to learn, then, that Sunderland are sending a not insignificant sum of money to France every week for two players who are no longer plying their trade at the Stadium of Light.
Wahbi Khazri (above) and Papy Djilobodji both moved to Ligue 1 on transfer deadline day in August after Sunderland failed to find a buyer willing to take them off their hands. And, according to L’Equipe, their failure to sell the big-money duo is proving costly in more ways than one.
Because it is understood that Sunderland are contributing about £35,000 a month of Khazri’s wages at Rennes while also paying almost £90,000 of Djilobodji’s £142,000 monthly wages at Dijon (below).
While saving this £30,000 a week might not have financed the prolific goal-scorer Sunderland need to survive in the Championship, the fact that they are being forced to subsidise their loanee’s wages rather highlights the awful recruitment that has led the club into such a perilous predicament.
With six goals in 13 Ligue 1 starts for Rennes, maybe Khazri should’ve been kept on after all. And the fact that they are paying over half of Djilobodji’s wages at Dijon is enough to make any Stadium of Light match-goer weep into their post-match pint.
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