P. Djilobodji

On 5 August 2016, Djilobodji signed for Sunderland on a four-year deal for a fee reported to be in the region of £8 million. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] He made his Premier League debut 16 days later in a 2–1 home loss to Middlesbrough , and the Sunderland Echo mentioned his performance as a "rare positive" in the defeat. [ 22 ] On 19 November, he was sent off in the last minute of a 3–0 win over Hull City at the Stadium of Light . [ 23 ] He was charged with violent conduct by The FA in January 2017 after catching West Bromwich Albion 's Darren Fletcher in the face in a 2–0 loss, [ 24 ] and subsequently received a four-match ban. [ 25 ] He totalled 23 games over the season as Sunderland were relegated. [ 26 ] Djilobodji returned to France's top flight on 31 August 2017, signing on loan for Dijon for the whole season. [ 26 ] He made his debut for them nine days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 loss at Caen in which he received a yellow card. [ 27 ] After Sunderland's relegation to EFL League One in 2018, Djilobodji was one of several players who expressed their desire to leave the club rather than play in England's third tier. [ 28 ] He reached a deal with the new administration of owner Stewart Donald that he could remain on unpaid leave during July in order to secure a move away from the club. The deal included a proviso that he maintain his fitness should he need to return to Sunderland. [ 29 ] He failed to return to training in August, and Donald suggested that Djilobodji and fellow absentee Didier Ndong were "willfully devaluing themselves" in order to secure cheap moves away from the club. [ 30 ] On 2 September 2018, Djilobodji informed Sunderland of his intention to return to training, insisting he had done nothing wrong. [ 31 ] He failed a fitness test and more training sessions, and Donald suggested Djilobodji was guilty of "gross misconduct". [ 32 ] On 12 September 2018, he was sacked for breaching his contract and failing a fitness test. [ 29 ] — Wikipedia