£500k Cardiff City transfer made £4.5m profit in controversial Sunderland deal: View | OneFootball

The former Newcastle United forward joined the Bluebirds in the summer of 2006, following a difficult period at his boyhood club.

He joined the Magpies at the age of ten. Chopra went on to play in the Premier League and the Champions League for Newcastle, but a lack of game time prompted him to seek some time away from St James' Park.

This led to a £500,000 transfer to Cardiff, with the English disappointed with the way he was treated by the club. He spoke to The Guardian where he bemoaned the amount of chances Shola Ameobi was given ahead of him, which eventually led to his exit from the club.

Signing a young striker with Champions League experience was a huge coup for the Bluebirds, and it turned out better than the South Wales side could ever have expected.

Chopra became a fan-favourite at Cardiff for his goalscoring

As soon as he started playing for Cardiff, Chopra's quality was clear for everyone to see. He scored six goals in his first ten matches in the Championship, while also contributing seven assists for his teammates.

His goals marked a huge run of form for the Bluebirds. They occupied top spot in the league for ten weeks, losing just twice between August and November in 2006. Chopra's form was a revelation, forming an instant partnership with striker Strike Thompson up front.

Despite Chopra struggling in front of goal in the latter stages of the season, as the Bluebirds ended up in 13th place in the division, he still finished the campaign as the second top scorer in the division. Chopra netted 22 times for Cardiff, with an extra 12 assists making him one of the most important players in the squad.

Chopra was a player unlike anyone seen at that level for Cardiff. He had fantastic pace and incredible quick feet in the box. His finishing was his greatest quality, crafting chances from nothing and finding the net with ease. Sadly for the Cardiff fans, he left the following season in a controversial transfer to one of his biggest rivals.

His controversial move to Sunderland made Cardiff a huge profit

In the summer of 2007, Chopra exited Ninian Park for Sunderland, much to the chagrin of the Bluebirds fans. After his 22 goal haul that saw the Bluebirds spending a significant amount of time on top of the Championship, he drew interest from eventual champions and new Premier League side Sunderland.

Roy Keane took over a side battling relegation and turned the club around, helping the Black Cats win promotion to the Premier League. The influx of money from TV rights meant they had cash to spend, and Chopra was one of the players who were targetted.

Despite being a former Newcastle player, he made the move to the Stadium of Light after the Black Cats agreed a £5 million transfer fee for the striker.

While losing a top striker like Chopra was big loss, making a £4.5 million profit after just one season was huge for Cardiff. They used the money to bring in a number of veteran talent, like Robbie Fowler and Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, who helped lead them to the FA Cup Final the following year.

While his move to Sunderland proved a huge outlay for the club, his career at the Stadium of Light didn't go to plan.

He spent just 18 months with the club, starting only 22 times in the Premier League. He only scored eight times for his new club, and his lack of game time lead him to return to Cardiff on loan in January 2009, before signing permanently in the summer of 2009.

However, Chopra did score the winner against Tottenham Hotspur in his debut for the club, which he thinks changed the fans perception of him.

Despite the controversy surrounding the deal, he had some good moments at Sunderland in his short time at the club.