deal in January 2008 after playing 16 matches. Sunderland On 22 January 2008, Bardsley joined Sunderland on a three-and-a-half-year contract in a deal worth an initial £850,000, potentially rising to £2 million. He made his debut in a 2–0 win against Birmingham City in the Premier League on 29 January. Bardsley played 11 times under Roy Keane in 2007–08 as Sunderland successfully avoided relegation by three points. On 27 August 2008 Bardsley scored his first goal in English football in a 2–1 victory against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup. Bardsley lost out to Pascal Chimbonda during the first half of the 2008–09 campaign before regaining his place in the team in November 2008. He retained his place under Ricky Sbragia, playing in total 33 times in 2008–09 as Sunderland survived relegation on the final day of the season. Bardsley kept his place under new manager Steve Bruce for the first half of the 2009–10 season until loan signing Alan Hutton took his place in February 2010. From there until the end of the campaign Bardsley was mainly used as a substitute and due his lack of playing time, Bardsley stated that he may have to consider leaving. However Hutton didn't make his move permanent and Bardsley was able to reclaim his place in the side and in November 2010, he signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal running until summer 2014. He scored his first league goal against Aston Villa on 5 January 2011 with a 25-yard strike in a 1–0 win. He then scored his second of the season with another long range strike against Chelsea on 1 February 2012 in a 4–2 defeat. He scored another long-range goal on 9 April 2011 in a 3–2 defeat against West Bromwich Albion. In total Bardsley played 37 times in 2010–11 as the Black Cats finished in 10th position. Bardsley's consistent performances during the campaign earned him the Player of the year award. Bardsley made a poor start to the 2011–12 season as he was sent-off in a 1–0 defeat against rivals Newcastle United on 21 August 2011. He was then handed a retrospective four-match ban by the FA for an altercation Juan Mata in a 2–1 defeat by Chelsea on 10 September 2011. Despite this Bardsley retained his place in the side under Martin O'Neill, playing a total of 37 matches as Sunderland finished in 13th position. He missed the start