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A broken promise over a move to Sunderland is part of the reason that SM Caen’s season ended up collapsing.

That’s according to Ouest France, who say striker Alexandre Mendy’s failed move to Sunderland was one of the key reasons the French side saw their season fall off.

They explain that things ‘ultimately collapsed’ during the season for the Ligue 2 side, with investigations now underway over what happened.

Mendy’s departure was one of the major problems, with the Guinean promised he could leave when he extended his contract in the summer of 2023.

He had his life packed up, put his house up for sale, and the deal taking him to Sunderland was done, despite some efforts from Gulf clubs. All that he had to do was avoid injury and on July 1st, the 30-year-old announced he wouldn’t be appearing on the training pitch.

He was eventually convinced to train for ten days, albeit reluctantly, before then ‘disappearing from the scene’. He was one of several at the club convinced he would leave and clearly with his mind elsewhere.

Then Kylian Mbappé and his family took charge on July 31st and everything changed. Mendy was told he would be Caen’s forward for another season.

He, and others, took some time to adjust and a lack of commitment from several was quickly noticed. Even manager Nicolas Seube was commenting on it publicly.

That never happened, though, and failed transfers was a sign of a lack of organisation off the pitch. Even agents were left wondering who to contact to discuss deals.

A disastrous season followed that’s seen Caen finish bottom of the Ligue 2 table and everyone wondering what has gone wrong. For some, it was a failed move to Sunderland which was a sign of things to come.