Sunderland have endured a miserable time over the last few years, and although things might seem slightly more promising now, their desperate drop to League One will not be forgotten for some time.

Although plenty of heroes were made in the efforts to negate these relegations, with Jermaine Defoe the obvious candidate, they could have fired themselves completely away from any trouble had they managed to squeeze through a move for a player who is now recognised as one of the greatest strikers of his generation.

Back in 2002, Peter Reid was hoping to find the heir to the retiring Niall Quinn and sought it in a gangly unassuming striker from Ajax. 

There was hope upon Wearside, but ultimately the deal to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one that they could not push through.

Had they managed it, however, it could have surely altered the trajectory of the club completely.

Just the season following this misstep, the Black Cats would get relegated. With the great Swede up front, there is no way he would have allowed such standards that would have mitigated a drop in divisions.

Following on from that, also including his longevity, his aura would have bred a remarkable dressing room atmosphere that would surely have demanded the most from those at the club for many years to come

He even arrived late into the Premier League with Manchester United just to prove he could have dominated the league had he wanted to, as he scored 29 times and assisted ten in just 53 games as a 34-year-old.

Having gone on to score 492 career goals and assist 202 times, he will go down as one of the all-time greats. This is further compounded by the fact that he managed to make 121 appearances for Sweden, where he also scored 62 times.

Although 305 career goals from Defoe marks an impressive career, few can compete with the legendary 41-year-old.

Ibrahimovic was a lethal asset to whoever he played for, and despite being an often-polarising character, he would surely have altered the mindset at the Stadium of Light had he made that move all those years ago.

The fact he still features for AC Milan when fit is a testament to his greatness, one which Andrea Petagna outlined when he said: “we are talking about one of the greatest strikers of all time”.

Had he made the switch, he would have obliterated the legacy that Defoe has left at the club with regards to his work on the pitch. Sunderland admittedly made a huge howler when they missed out on this forward.