Sunderland missed out on two signings during the calamitous 2017/18 Championship season that was showcased on Netflix.
Following Premier League relegation in the 2016/17 as the side spearheaded by David Moyes were unable to build on Sam Allardyce’s success at Sunderland, the Black Cats found themselves in the Championship.
Expectations were set for Sunderland to bounce back to the top flight as Netflix cameras recorded the show Sunderland ‘Til I Die, but they showcased the club in their darkest hour as they plunged to League One.
The season didn’t get off to the best start due to the issues surrounding recruitment, including the fact that Sunderland missed out on two striker targets in the summer transfer window, as showcased in season 1 episode 2 of the show.
Here we look at those two players and whether they may have made a difference to the Black Cats…
Sunderland failed to sign Ross McCormack in 2017/18 season
Following Sunderland’s relegation to the Championship, it was clear that they were in dire need of a striker addition, with Jermain Defoe moving on to Premier League side Bournemouth.
One man they looked to target was Scottish striker and Championship royalty, Ross McCormack. The attacker was known to be prolific at Championship level, having notably bagged 66 league goals in three seasons before the 2016/17 season, where he struggled up top for Aston Villa.
Nonetheless, he had that goalscoring prowess, and had Sunderland signed McCormack, he could have partnered brilliantly alongside Lewis Grabban, and even been a better successor to him in comparison to Ashley Fletcher.
Martin Bain also attempted to sign Joseph Mendes
Former Sunderland CEO Martin Bain was also a fan of then-Reading striker Joseph Mendes. The attacker was fancied after his fairly limited 2016/16 campaign for the Royals, where he only played 12 games but still scored three goals, notably bagging a brace in a 3-1 away win to Aston Villa.
Mendes would have been an extra body through the door and would have added to the depth up top, but his 2017/18 season was riddled with injury issues, having suffered from knee problems that kept him out of the entire campaign after the fourth game against Preston.
The following season, Mendes then went on to not score a single goal for AJ Ajaccio in Ligue 2. It is clear that Sunderland potentially dodged a bullet by not signing Mendes, but McCormack certainly feels like a missed opportunity.