After Dick Advocaat’s heroics at Sunderland the year before, the Dutchman was at the helm at the start of the 2015/16 season.

The Black Cats were hoping for a change in fortune after narrowly avoiding relegation the year before.

There was anticipation in the summer ahead of a rebuild to make sure the club were not in that position again.

And in overhauling sections of the playing squad, one man was a casualty of Advocaat’s decision making.

After four years at the Stadium of Light, Connor Wickham was sold.

The striker left the north-east and headed to London to join Crystal Palace for an initial fee of around £7million.

Wickham had managed just five league goals during his final year at the club as they barely remained in the top flight.

His time at Sunderland failed to deliver in truth having moved from Ipswich back in 2011 for around £8million.

The Black Cats made a loss on the striker who had a couple of loans out to the Championship with stints at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United.

His time in the second tier was more impressive than his run in the top-flight.

And his departure was welcomed by some corners of the club’s fanbase.

There was little displeasure to his move to Palace with several fans welcoming the move to ship out the striker to a divisional rival.

Here’s how the Sunderland fans reacted to the news of Wickham’s departure back in 2015.