Where are they now: What happened to the Sunderland team who last played West Brom?

What became of the last set of Sunderland players to face West Brom?

It may not feel like it, but it has actually been a fairly long time since Sunderland last played West Brom. 

The game was January 21, 2017, when both clubs were in the Premier League. Even if that's not that long ago in years, it feels like a different world completely. 

The game finished in a 2-0 win for West Brom at the Hawthorns, and it was generally about as depressing as it sounds. 

The defeat was not a surprise, of course. West Brom were riding high at the time in the top half of the Premier League while Sunderland were rooted to the bottom.

An all-too familiar collapse from David Moyes' team in six first half minutes ended any actual contest, and it was actually the club's 900th away defeat in the top flight. A lovely day all-round then...

Anyway, who played for Sunderland that day and what became of them? Click through the gallery to find out. 

The incredibly likable Vito Mannone has had a nomadic career since leaving Sunderland. He was close to re-joining the Wearside club in the summer of 2021 but the club went for Thorben Hoffmann instead. He currently plays for Lorient with France, although he has made just two appearances for them this season. 

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Jason Denayer was NOT likable. His attitude at Sunderland was poor and he later openly amditted he thought himself too good to have to play in a relegation battle. Well, Mr 'too good' is currently counting his money with Saudi club Shabab Al Ahli.

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There have not been many more respected players at Sunderland than John O'Shea. He played more than 250 games for the club and stuck around for seven years. He is currently the first-team coach at Stoke City. 

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Papy Djilobodji was one of the last expensive mistakes in an era that were ultimately defined by them. Now 34-years-old, he plays for Gaziantep FK in Turkey and has done since 2019.

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Billy Jones only played 88 times for Sunderland, although it felt like it was a lot more. Jones stuck around after relegation to the Championship but was released a year later following relegation to League One. He is not officially retired, but has not played since the 2022/21 season, which means he just hasn't actually announced it.

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Patrick Van Aanholt was a rarity at Sunderland: a transfer success. He arrived at the club in 2014 for just £2million and left for £14million. This game was actually his last ever game for Sunderland, with his move to Crystal Palace confirmed just nine days later. He currently plays in Turkey for Galatasaray.

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Seb Larsson looked on his last legs when he left Sunderland in the summer of 2017 after more than 200 appearances. He had plenty left to offer though, and captained Sweden at Euro 2020 (in the summer of 2021). He retired earlier this year.

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If you're a Sunderland fan, you will likely struggle to even think about Jack Rodwell without getting angry. No one in our entire history has abused our club more. He is currently playing for Sydney FC in Australia and presumably not trying for them either. 

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George Honeyman played most of his first team games for Sunderland in the Championship and League One, but he made his breakthrough in the Premier League. This was one of them. He was part of the Millwall line-up at the Stadium of Light last week.

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Adnan Januzaj was supposed to be the next big thing and his loan to Sunderland was supposed to be the making of him. It didn't happen. His career stalled and he did reinvent himself successfully in Spain with Real Sociedad. He was released last summer though and joined Sevilla, where he has barely played this season. 

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No one needs reminding of this. He went away, he came back, he quit. Jermain Defoe is now an academy coach at Tottenham. 

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Victor Anichebe (sub for Januzaj) was a great lad who struggled with injury too much to have the career he should have. Aside from a brief spell in China after leaving Sunderland, he hasn't had a club since despite still only being 34-years-old.

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Fabio Borini (sub for Denayer) gave us some great moments but when he finally joined permanently it really was a case of the right signing at the wrong time. He went back to AC Milan on loan after Sunderland's relegation before a short spell at Hellas Verona. Now 31, he currently plays for Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey. 

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