One former Sunderland academy star has spoken about a transfer fiasco that sparked some ‘needle’ from Middlesbrough fans.
Sunderland has had several academy stars brought up through the ranks who have gone on to big things.
England internationals and former Sunderland stars Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson for example have gone on to have splendid careers in the Premier League, with the latter picking up a Champions League.
Even in the current crop of youngsters, Sunderland has the likes of Chris Rigg and Tommy Watson, who have been linked with Premier League moves this season.
Watson has been linked to Brighton, whilst Rigg has attracted interest from Man United, as well as a range of other Premier League clubs, with the pair successfully continuing the Academy of Light’s stellar reputation.
However, one man who didn’t quite make it to the Premier League, but still saw great success up and down the EFL was former Sunderland academy man Martyn Waghorn, who has spoken out about one previous transfer saga that resulted in him receiving abuse.
Former Sunderland striker Martyn Waghorn outlines Middlesbrough fan abuse after transfer fiasco
Martyn Waghorn came through the Sunderland academy set-up and was handed his first taste of action in the 2007/08 season.
Roy Keane gave Waghorn his Sunderland debut, coming up against Manchester United, one of eight appearances for the first team before he moved elsewhere.
The recently retired former Black Cats man has spoken about a period later on in his career when he signed for Derby County, despite moving closer to a move to Middlesbrough.
Per Sunderland Echo, Waghorn said: “I had my year at Ipswich, and it was before I was signing for Derby,” Waghorn said when asked about the failed move to Middlesbrough. “I spoke to Tony Pulis at the time. Everything was kind of agreed, really, and then Derby were in as well. So, I believe it was Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Derby were kind of all in and around it, and then I just chose Derby at the end of the day.
“That’s how simple it was. It was like, take your pick, and obviously, the lure of Lampard, to be honest, was massive, and playing, seeing this team, the project that was going on, and, yeah, I wanted to be a part of that team. The move to Middlesbrough was very close. I believe everything was agreed. I just had to make a decision within a split instance because the time was running out as well.
“Living in moments and you’ve got to choose one, haven’t you? And that’s just the way it went. Yeah, no, absolutely and on the back of that note, I feel like over the last few years I got a lot of sticks from Boro fans regarding that and I don’t know where that kind of materialised from. I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes or whatever, but I got a lot of abuse going back there for choosing Derby over them.
“I don’t know how it’s come from that. It’s just there was a player link with the club and I chose to go to a different one. It’s probably obviously the way it went, but I think there’s a lot to do with the playoffs and how it finished at the end of the year and they missed out and we got in. So, I think there’s a lot of needle going on, obviously, with stuff behind the scenes that I’m unaware of. I got abuse for a few years with that.”
Martyn Waghorn career presents Black Cats missed opportunity
After recently retiring, the South Shields-born striker recorded an impressive career tally of 133 goals for the likes of Leicester City, Derby County, and even north of the border with Rangers.
The Sunderland academy product’s time on Wearside was fairly short-lived, with the Black Cats being the only club he represented in his entire career that he was unable to notch a single goal for, and considering how well he has done elsewhere, it begs the question of whether he could have been handed more of an opportunity at the Stadium of Light.
| Team | Apps | Goals |
| Derby County | 150 | 37 |
| Leicester City | 116 | 20 |
| Rangers | 78 | 44 |
| Ipswich Town | 46 | 16 |
| Coventry City | 42 | 2 |
| Wigan Athletic | 41 | 8 |
| Millwall | 14 | 3 |
| Huddersfield Town | 13 | 1 |
| Northampton Town | 8 | 1 |
| Charlton | 7 | 1 |
| Hull City | 5 | 1 |
He was handed just two starts at Sunderland before he showed his goalscoring prowess in loan spells at Charlton Athletic and Leicester City, something that could have provided the foundations of a decent career on Wearside, but the Black Cats opted to permanently sell him to the latter.