Didier Ibrahim Ndong (born 17 June 1994) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French Ligue 1 club Dijon and the Gabon national team.
Club career CS Sfaxien Born in Lambaréné, Gabon, Ndong began his career at Cercle Mbéri Sportif. In 2011, Ndong moved to Tunisia, where he made his professional debut playing for CS Sfaxien during the 2011–12 CLP-1 season. He made his first appearance under then manager Nabil Kouki on 26 September 2012, starting and playing 80' minutes against JS Kairouan before being substituted off, marking his only appearance for the first team that year. The following season, Ndong made more appearances for the first team under newly appointed manager Ruud Krol, while receiving training by former Ajax defender Hatem Trabelsi, he made 12 appearances during the regular season, scoring once against Stade Tunisien on 14 April 2013, playing as an attacking right midfielder for the club from Sfax. He made six further appearances for CS Sfaxien during the playoffs helping his side to win the national championship and their 8th title overall.
Lorient On 3 January 2015, Ndong signed for Ligue 1 side Lorient on a four-and-a-half year contract.
Sunderland On 31 August 2016, Ndong signed for Premier League club Sunderland, on a five-year contract, for a club record transfer fee (excluding add-ons) of £13.6 million. He made his debut on 12 September 2016, in a 3–0 defeat to Everton. Ndong was a key member of the Sunderland team in his initial season and scored his first goal for Sunderland, on 4 February 2017 in a 4–0 win over Crystal Palace. The club were later relegated to the Championship for the first time in ten years, following a 1–0 loss to Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light on 29 April 2017. He initially stayed with Sunderland following their relegation to the Championship playing regularly. On 13 January 2018, he was sent off for a straight red card against Cardiff City in what would be his final appearance for Sunderland ahead of his loan to Watford.
Loan to Watford Ndong signed for Premier League Watford on loan on 31 January 2018 during the January Transfer Window. Although signed on a loan, Watford had an option to sign the midfielder on a permanent basis. He was suspended for his first game, following a red card in his final game for Sunderland. However, after the suspension ended, he still did not play for Watford and was an unused substitute only three times during his disappointing four-month loan spell.
