Will Buckley

On 14 August 2014, Buckley transferred to Premier League club Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, reported as £2.5 million, signing a three-year contract. [ 87 ] [ 88 ] There, Buckley re-joined Manager Gus Poyet at Sunderland this time and revealed that he tried to sign earlier this year. [ 89 ] Buckley made his Sunderland debut, in the opening game of the season, where he came on as a second-half substitute, in a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion . [ 90 ] In the next match against Manchester United , Buckley made his first start and played well, in a 1–1 draw, with the Daily Mirror describing his performance as "provided a consistent attacking threat down the right" . [ 91 ] Following this, Buckley began to established himself in the first team under Gus Poyet . [ 92 ] Buckley then played a vital role in two separate matches against Crystal Palace and rivals ' Newcastle United when he provided two assists to give them wins on 3 November 2014 and 21 December 2014 respectively. [ 93 ] [ 94 ] However, after Poyet's sacking, Buckley struggled to regain his first team, including a knee injury that kept him sidelined for two months. [ 95 ] Although he returned to the first team on the bench for the rest of the season, he once played in the reserve side and scored, as well as, assisting one of the goals, in a 3–2 win over Southampton Under-21 on 5 April 2015. [ 96 ] After this, Buckley went on to make 24 appearances in all competitions in his first season. Buckley was one of seven Sunderland players released after they were relegated from the Premier League in 2017. [ 97 ] — Wikipedia