That Papy Djilobodji remains a Sunderland player is an all round failure.
It’s a failure on behalf of the English club, who really needed him off the wage bill this summer. It’s failure from the player’s agents, who see the former Chelsea player’s career now in a complete state of limbo and his reputation somewhat dented.
And, finally, it’s a failure of the player himself, who really should have put more pressure on earlier in the summer to get his future sorted and banged heads together had that not been the case by the beginning of August.
There’s been a complacency, a feeling it’ll all sort itself out in the wash, or at least that someone else will sort it out. And that’s how we’re in a situation which sees Sunderland considering their legal options, and the player putting together a defence to make sure he hangs on to as much of his salary as possible.
Sunday’s edition of L’Equipe has a look at the situation and explains that Djilobodji doesn’t agree with Sunderland’s claims he went AWOL for the summer and won’t stand and watch his contract be cancelled.
The French newspaper states: ‘The defender has a written agreement authorising him not to train in July in order to finalise his transfer. Without news from his leaders, he stayed in Nantes to train physically in August and he did not receive his salary, while waiting for a new destination.’
There’s probably wrong on all sides here, which is fitting.
