Pierre Ekwah is Sunderland's first arrival of January, signing a four-an-a-half year deal on Wearside from West Ham.
The French midfielder is 21 years old and spent three years at the renowned INF Clairefontaine national academy, whose graduates include FIFA World Cup winners Thierry Henry, Blaise Matuidi, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé.
More recently though he was a youth player at the London Stadium, and has scored nine goals and assisted three times in 39 Under-21 appearances for the Hammers. His time at West Ham overlapped with Aji Alese, who will be a familiar face for Ekwah on Wearside now.
A France Under-20 international, Ekwah will wear the number 39 shirt and is expected to be available for Sunderland's FA Cup trip to Fulham