Sunderland AFC: You may be very surprised where these 3 ex-Black Cats stars are playing now | OneFootball

FLW looks at some former Sunderland players that now ply their trade in some obscure places

Sunderland have had all manner of players on their books in recent years as they look to return to their former glory and so it is no wonder that many of them now ply their trade at some obscure clubs nowadays, as a result.

The Black Cats have had a tumultuous time of things over the last ten years or so, with back-to-back relegations from the Premier League and the Championship as they took on their first League One campaign in over thirty years in 2018.

They are now back thriving in the second tier though, and while their current crop of players looks set to achieve great things either on Wearside or elsewhere in their career, we are choosing to focus on some former players that have ended up in far and wide places after leaving the Stadium Of Light.

With that said, we have picked out three ex-Black Cats stars that you may be very surprised to learn are featuring where they are nowadays.

Didier Ndong

Gabonese international midfielder Didier Ndong joined Sunderland for a club-record fee of £13.6 million in August 2016 and he is now known by many Black Cats fans as one of the biggest flops in the club's history for his two-year spell on Wearside.

Ndong played relatively well in his first season at the club, despite relegation, but things began to unravel in the Championship as he failed to get a move away in the summer and was absent from training for the first few months of the season before being sacked in October for a breach of his contract.

He returned to Ligue 1 to join EA Guingamp just two months later, then spent three years at Dijon FCO while going on loan to Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor for the 2021/22 campaign.

Ndong joined Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Riyadh last summer as they avoided relegation by three points in his maiden season, and he completed a surprise move to nine-time Iranian champions Esteghlal in August, where he has been a regular in the Persian Gulf Pro League and AFC Champions League so far.

Max Power

Max Power was a much more successful signing for Sunderland, and for a fraction of the price paid for Ndong too, as he moved to the North East in the summer of 2018 on loan from Wigan Athletic to aid their League One plight.

Power is a tough-tackling midfielder, and he formed a decent partnership with the likes of Lee Cattermole and Grant Leadbitter as his temporary move was made permanent in the January window, but Jack Ross' side fell short in the play-off and EFL Trophy finals at the end of the campaign.

He continued to play regularly and was named as club captain for the start of the 2020/21 season. He lifted the EFL Trophy in the Black Cats' Wembley win over Tranmere Rovers in May but was unable to help them back to the Championship before he departed at the end of his contract that summer.

Power returned to Wigan that year, and he helped the Latics to the League One title in his first season back at the club, then completed another season in the second tier before a surprise move to Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah last summer.

He barely featured in Saudi Arabia though, and so underwent a successful trial period with Danish side AGF Aarhus in the summer prior to an official move to the Superliga outfit last month.

The move to Denmark is certainly a left-field one for Power at 31 years old but Sunderland fans will certainly be keeping a watchful eye over him in the hope that he achieves further success abroad.

Bailey Wright

Centre-back Bailey Wright was a coup for Sunderland when he joined on loan from Bristol City in January 2020 and he proved to be an inspired signing as his temporary move was made permanent that same summer after his Robins release.

The Australian international was a mainstay at the heart of the defence throughout the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons in the third tier, and even captained the team on occasion in the latter campaign as the Black Cats won promotion to the Championship with him playing 90 minutes in all three play-off games.

His game-time was limited in the second tier following the arrival of Dan Ballard and Danny Batth, and so he joined Rotherham United on loan in January 2023, but never really nailed down a starting spot at the New York Stadium and left Sunderland last summer upon the expiry of his contract, with an emotional message penned to the fans upon his exit.

Wright's next move came out of nowhere, as he joined Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors on a two-year deal in July 2023, but the move does make sense as it is closer to his native Australia, and he may be looking toward the end of his playing days soon at 32-years-old.

He has won the 2023 Singapore Cup and 2024 Singapore Community Shield at Lion City so far and is a regular starter in the league and AFC Champions League.