SUNDERLAND confirmed the signings of three players in the early hours of Saturday morning after a late dash to beat the deadline, with striker Ahmed Abdullahi among those to arrive.

The Black Cats managed to wrap up a last minute deal for Abdullahi having made their move for the Gent striker earlier in the day.

The 20-year-old has signed a four-year deal, with the club having the option of extending that by a further 12 months.

Abdullahi followed Salis Abdul Samed and Milan Aleksic through the door at the Stadium of Light, with the loan signing of Chris Mepham having been announced shortly after the deadline.

Defensive midfielder Samed, 24, joins on a season long loan from Lens while the highly-rated Aleksic, who joined from FK Radnicki 1923, has signed a four-year contract with the club again having the option of an extra year.

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said of Aleksic, who turned 19 on Friday: “Milan is an incredibly talented young player, who is on the fringe of national team selection. We appreciate his creativity and versatility but understand that we’ll need to be patient as he adapts to a new country and a new club.

"Although we will not rush his involvement, his progress to date and talent means that we firmly believe he can become an important player for Sunderland in the future.

"Attracting a talent like Milan underlines our progress as a club and our continued track record in nurturing talent in an elite environment, which is a testament to our staff behind the scenes at the Academy of Light.”

And on the loan capture of Samed, Speakman said: “We are delighted to welcome Sallis to Sunderland. He’s a defensive midfielder player, who is disciplined in and out of possession.

"He is a different profile within our midfield, and we believe he will relish the battles that come with playing in a league like the Sky Bet Championship. Sallis’ experiences in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League will stand him in good stead, as we support him in transitioning to English football.”

The capture of Abdullahi was a boost and relief for Sunderland, who looked at one stage to be heading for the deadline without signing a striker.

The Nigeria Under-20 international will compete with Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor for the striker spots. Speakman described the 20-year-old is an out and out striker but says Sunderland will be patient with their new recruit.

He said: "We are delighted to welcome Ahmed to Sunderland. He is a natural centre forward, who enjoys playing in central areas, in addition to being an excellent finisher. He has an impressive goalscoring record at youth level and he recently stepped up into Gent’s senior team. We will give him time to settle and support him in that process, but he will bring immediate competition to our attacking line and we look forward to seeing him grow with us throughout the season and beyond.”

Hemir's move to Juventus hasn't yet been confirmed but is understood to have gone through.