Cats swoop for Hammers’ Aji as Neil bolsters his back line
SPEEDY STOPPER WILL GIVE US GREATER BALANCE, SAYS BOSS
SUNDERLAND have signed centreback Aji Alese from West Ham for an undisclosed fee. The 6ft 4in 21-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Wearsiders, with the option of an additional 12 months.
He becomes the Black Cats’ fourth signing of the summer, following the conversion of Leon Dajaku’s loan move to a permanent deal, the arrival of centre-back Daniel Ballard from Arsenal, and the return of one of last season’s loanees Jack Clarke, who arrived on a permanent deal from Spurs last weekend. 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, [sporting director] Kristjaan Speakman and [head of recruitment] 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.”
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.”
Alese is a graduate of the Hammers’ academy system and has represented England at every level from U16 to U20.
He joined Accrington Stanley on loan in 2019 and made his EFL debut against Sunderland in September of that year, with the Black Cats winning 3-1 at the Crown Ground.
He made 15 appearances for Stanley in all competitions before returning to West Ham.
His has made two senior appearances for the Hammers, playing in a 5-1 Carabao Cup win against Hull City in September 2020, and in a 1-0 Europa League defeat at the hands of Dynamo Zagreb in December last year.
Alese also spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan at Cambridge United, making two appearances for the U’s as they won promotion to League One.