Young Sunderland defender Aji Alese was born on this day in 2001. He arrived in summer 2022 from West Ham and has gone on to make 27 appearances for the Lads so far.
He hadn’t played much senior football prior to his arrival, only playing in really brief loan spells at Accrington and Cambridge. But he had made a Europa League appearance for West Ham, playing the full 90 against Dynamo Zagreb. So Hammers fans were pretty annoyed, and confused, when it was announced that Sunderland had signed Alese on a permanent deal. He was highly-rated among both the fanbase and within the academy system, but David Moyes apparently had the final decision to let him go.
Initially he was eased into the side, appearing off the bench for late cameos in the Championship. His first start for the club came in the League Cup as we put a second-string side out against Sheffield Wednesday. Alese actually looked out of his depth against League One opposition, so understandably we fans were apprehensive about his chances in the Championship.