Papy Djilobodji was a disaster for Sunderland but could he revive his career in Spain with Celta Vigo or Las Palmas?
Considering that David Moyes spent the majority of last season complaining about the lack of funds at his disposal at Sunderland, he seemed to conveniently overlook the fact that he splashed out £8 million to make Papy Djilobodji his first signing at the Stadium of Light, per the BBC.
The error-prone centre-back moved to Stamford Bridge after making just one appearance in an entirely forgettable spell at Chelsea, coming in the final few seconds of an EFL Cup win against Walsall.
It’s fair to say Djilobodji did not exactly live up to that huge price-tag – a fee almost £7 million more than Sunderland spent on all of their signings put together in the 2017 summer transfer window.
In fact Djilobodji was so poor that The Black Cats could not even find a buyer in the summer, instead sending the centre-back out to Ligue 1 side Dijon on a season-long loan. But the Championship strugglers could finally be handed the chance to ship the 28-year-old out on a permanent deal.
Grada3 reports that Celta Vigo coach Juan Carlos Unzue is ‘infatuated’ with the defender, who has in fairness found some modicum of form again in Ligue 1 this season. The report adds that Sunderland will not stand in Djilobodji’s way with a move on the cards – though they are obviously highly unlikely to recoup that ill-advised £8 million transfer fee.
The report claims that La Liga rivals Las Palmas are also keen. And with Sunderland needing to sell before new manager Chris Coleman can bring in his own players in January, they would be more than happy to see Djilobodji go.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
