Portsmouth have signed defender Aji Alese on mortgage from Premier League facet Sunderland.
The 25-year-old joins Pompey for the remainder of the season having solely performed twice this marketing campaign in Premier League 2 after recovering from a damaged leg.
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London-born Alese, an England Underneath-20 worldwide, signed for Sunderland in 2022 from West Ham United, having come up by way of the Hammers’ academy.
“He is a powerful defender who can be comfy on the ball and has expertise of taking part in Championship soccer,” Portsmouth supervisor John Mousinho informed the membership web site.
“We’re brief on centre-backs in the mean time and he precisely matches the profile of what we have now been searching for.”
Since his arrival within the north east, he has made 46 appearances for the Black Cats, scoring as soon as.
His final first-team look earlier than breaking his leg got here in January 2025, certainly one of 12 Championship video games he featured in final season as Sunderland went on to win promotion to the Premier League by way of the play-offs.
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“Aji has been extremely affected person and labored diligently to organize himself for this subsequent alternative,” Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman mentioned.
“The Championship is a league he is acquainted with, and this transfer is the perfect step for him within the second half of the season.”