Sunderland’s £325k Gamble Pays Off Big — Unleashes a Relentless Goal Machine
When Kevin Phillips joined Sunderland from Watford in 1997 for just £325,000, few could have predicted the impact he would make. What started as a modest signing quickly turned into one of the greatest bargains in the club’s history. A natural goal scorer with an unshakable focus, Phillips not only fired the Black Cats back into the Premier League but stunned the football world by scoring 30 top-flight goals in the 1999/2000 season. That incredible haul earned him both the Premier League Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe—making him the first and only Englishman to claim the latter. Though the wider footballing world may have overlooked his achievement, Sunderland fans still speak his name with reverence. Phillips didn’t just play for the club—he became a legend.