Victor Anichebe’s career remains one of unfulfilled potential, a story of what might have been, which is why he is playing for Sunderland.

They found each other out of desperation, a striker who could not find a club following his release by West Bromwich Albion, signed by a manager who had failed to land numerous other transfer targets over the summer.

Players signed as free agents after the close of the transfer window are normally damaged goods, even if they do not like to admit it, yet the gamble Sunderland manager David Moyes has taken on Anichebe could turn into a lottery win.