SUNDERLAND have completed the permanent signing of defender Aji Alese who has made the move from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee.

Alese, who has penned a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light, becomes their third summer signing after the arrivals of Daniel Ballard and Jack Clarke.

The 21-year-old has featured just twice for the Hammers first-team but has previously spent time on loan with League One Accrington Stanley where he made 15 appearances in the 2019/20. The following campaign, he spent the second half of the season with Cambridge United where he featured just twice.

Alese said: "It’s amazing to be here and I’m happy the deal is done. I live five minutes away from West Ham’s training ground and I’ve been there since the age of eight, so it could have been easier to stay but life isn’t easy and I’m ready for the challenge.

"I spoke to Alex Neil, Kristjaan Speakman and Stuart Harvey and I got a great feeling about Sunderland AFC. This is the place I want to be, so now it’s time to crack down and get ready for the new season."

Standing at six foot four inches, Alese will provide competition for places in defence alongside Ballard, Danny Batth and Bailey Wright. However, he is the only left-footed central defender in Sunderland’s squad and will add a different dimension if Neil decides to use different formations.

Manager Neil said: "Aji is left-footed and he’s really quick. I like having balance in my team and he was at a stage whereby he was really pushing to get into West Ham’s first team, so we felt it was a really good fit for us.

"More and more, I think young lads are realising that they need to get on the pitch and show what they can do. It is important that Aji comes here, shows his quality and gets into the team - that will be up to him, but he has already shown an appetite to play and the qualities that he brings are ones that I think we needed to add to the squad."

The Black Cats continue to make progress on the transfer front and invest in youth with the Championship season beginning in just over a fortnight's time.