Having endured so much pain over the last few years, the fact that Norwich City look to be reaping the rewards of signing Bali Mumba could be another galling sight for Sunderland fans.
The academy graduate was a promising figure on Wearside though left the club this summer for pastures new and made an instant impact in East Anglia, helping set-up the winning goal on his home debut.
Potentially a useful tool for the Black Cats as they look to finally secure promotion from League One, the Sunderland Echo report that manager Phil Parkinson actually had little to do with his sale.
Within their weekly Q&A, the publication reveal that it was in fact Richard Hill who dealt with the negotiations in regards to a new contract for the 19-year-old at the Stadium Light and a sale ultimately sanctioned by Stewart Donald.
In short, Parkinson didn’t have a particularly great role in it,'' writes Phil Smith.
The negotiations were handled by Richard Hill, and clearly, the sale ultimately sanctioned by Stewart Donald.
The player’s contract situation was thought to have been one of the reasons by his sale as Mumba had entered the final year of his deal and hadn’t yet established himself in the first-team.
With that in mind, perhaps the chance to bring in around £350k during the COVID-19 pandemic proved too tempting for Donald and other decision-makers behind the scenes.
Still, Mumba certainly impressed as a make-shift left-back during the win over Swansea.
While it must be noted that he’s only played two Championship games as opposed to Denver Hume’s nine in League One, the graphic below shows the difference between the two.
Clearly, there’s no guarantee Mumba would be playing in that berth had he stayed in the North East but does look to be a more dynamic option.
Only time will tell if those behind the scenes at Sunderland got the decision right.