10 Players You Didn't Know Sunderland Almost Signed

6. Papiss Cisse

By May 2012, Papiss Cisse had managed to score 13 goals in his first 14 games, including a Goal of the Season contender at Stamford Bridge, and had reportedly turned down a move to arch-rivals Sunderland in favour of pulling on the famous black and white shirt. It's no surprise that there was a feeling of goodwill emanating towards the Senegalese frontman - the flipside being that it left a certain Demba Ba feeling a tad left out, like when a child finds a new toy to play with. Martin O'Neill was quick to refute any notion of Sunderland having entered the market for the former Freiberg hitman in January 2012, but his indignant face-saving response wasn't fooling anybody. With the hours ticking down to the close of the transfer window, Sunderland had been repeatedly linked with a £10 million splurge for the 26 year old Senegalese frontman, but once Alan Pardew and his entourage stepped up their interest, their was only to be one outcome.

''I am flattered by Sunderland's interest. There were other clubs interested, but the moment Newcastle showed their full interest, I was delighted to come - there was only one place for me. Now, I need to seize the opportunity and show everybody what I can do. This was the club I wanted to join.'' - Papiss Cisse, January 2012.

Following his blistering start to his Toon career, Sunderland supporters must have been crying into their cereal bowls, as the new kid on the block gave Premier League defences torturous nightmares for months on end. However, it's two years later and he has added a paltry ten more league goals to his total. At a stark £10 million, Sunderland supporters probably won't feel so harshly aggrieved to have missed out on signing another lavishly-purchased Cisse.