FIVE and a half years have now passed since Will Grigg joined Sunderland on that dramatic January deadline day but for the striker his time on Wearside still stings.

It is, as Grigg reflects on a rollercoaster career which is not yet over, one period in which he's happy to admit wishes had turned out very differently.

That's understandable. Grigg was riding the crest of a wave when he arrived from Wigan Athletic in the January of 2019, with the Black Cats' chaotic pursuit of the striker infamously aired on Netflix.

"The club desperately wanted to keep Will but this is an offer we couldn't refuse," said Wigan boss Paul Cook at the time, with Sunderland having eventually raised their bid to £4m.

"This comes with so much emotional attachment because Will is so popular with our supporters."

But Grigg was never able to build a bond on Wearside. He was never able to find his best form on Wearside.

In 62 appearances, the striker - now 33 - managed just eight goals, only five of which came in the league.

“My time at Sunderland was disappointing," Grigg tells We Are Sunderland via SkyBet.

"It’s probably the one moment in my career that I’ll look on and wish it would’ve gone differently.

"It probably came at the wrong time in terms of my career and my life – I put it down to bad timing. That’s football and that’s life, and unfortunately these things happen.”

RECOMMENDED READING:

Time eases pain but most frustrating for Grigg was wondering what might have been had things turned out differently. And even though his time at Sunderland didn't come to plan, his memories aren't all bad.

“I remember scoring my first goal in my first home game for Sunderland, which was brilliant," he says.

"My second season, we played against Bradford City on Boxing Day in front of 45,000 people for a League One game – there's not many teams in League One that ever would’ve got that crowd for this fixture.

"When the fans are on board and helping you throughout the 90 minutes, there’s no better place to be. We unfortunately lost the play-off final, but to see the fans come together the way they did at Wembley was something special.”

Cook described Grigg as a "diamond of a bloke" after his Wigan exit for Sunderland and told of his desire to manage the striker again in the future - and his wish was granted. Last summer Grigg reunited with Cook at Chesterfield and scored 25 goals to fire the Spireites to promotion back to the Football League. He's scored three goals in nine league appearances so far this season.