Sam Allardyce told £14m flop he was a waste of money when he was at Sunderland

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Sam Allardyce replaced Dick Advocaat in the 2015/16 season and helped save Sunderland from relegation.

Allardyce pulled off the impossible job at Sunderland as he orchestrated a 3-0 win against Everton on the penultimate day of the season to ensure the Black Cats retained their top-flight status at the expense of North East rivals Newcastle United.

The former manager left the Stadium of Light at the end of the season to become the boss of England, which, of course, proved to be the shortest tenure in the history of the national team.

Now, Regis Le Bris is excelling in the Premier League, despite his side’s 2-0 loss against Manchester United last time out; they are sitting in the top half of the table and seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Allardyce has reflected on his nine-month spell on Wearside and admitted that he wasted £14 million on a signing in the 2015 January transfer window.

Wahbi Khazri was a mistake for Sunderland

When speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce revealed the time he told Sunderland’s £14m acquisition Wahbi Khazri that he was a waste of money.

“I’ll tell you the story about that because I was getting a bit frustrated with him. We were in a difficult position.

“This is going into, I think, the last four games of the season, where we need to win at least two to stay up. We were doing a bit of training, and we were messing about. I said something like, I’ve wasted 14 million on you. I mean, so anyway, that’s not putting an arm around him, is it?

So that’s not putting an arm around him. So anyway, we’re playing the game, and let’s face it, we won three to two. Three to two and he scored a right foot volley to get us back in the game at one-one. And he come running over and said, Gaffer, do you think I’m worth 14 million now?”

Khazri arrived at the Stadium of Light from Bordeaux to help steer the club away from the relegation zone, but would only contribute two goals and one assist in 14 outings.

Jermaine Defoe almost single-handedly led the charge with his contributions that season, as Khazri only mustered one more goal for the Black Cats before returning to French football.

Sunderland have learned from the mistakes of the past as this summer’s signings have made an immediate impact in the Premier League, most notably Granit Xhaka.

The 30-year-old has been compared to Kevin De Bruyne for his efforts since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, whereas Robin Roefs has impressed between the sticks.

Regis Le Bris is feeling positive about Sunderland’s signings

Sunderland boast a new-look squad from the side who achieved Premier League promotion via the playoffs last term as they aim to buck the trend of newly promoted sides suffering immediate relegation.

The Black Cats outspent Burnley and Leeds United in the summer transfer window, and their recruitment has paid dividends after an incredible start to the season.

All newly promoted sides are expected to invest heavily in the squad, and considering Sunderland have suffered in this regard in the past, Le Bris is optimistic about his side’s chances this year.

“Every person involved in the process were really important, and many players signed. It was important to reinforce the squad for the new challenge, and after that, the competition, the journey will tell, and the output will be really interesting, but at the minute it’s really positive.”