Former West Ham United defender Aji Alese has made his debut for new club Sunderland after departing the Hammers in the summer.
Alese, who first turned professional in July 2018, had spent his entire senior career with the Hammers, barring short loan spells with Accrington Stanley and Cambridge United until last month when the defender signed for Championship side Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.
Having been an unused substitute for their opening day draw against Coventry City last weekend, Alese came off the bench for the final two minutes of the Black Cats’ 3-2 victory away at Bristol City, replacing former Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United winger Jack Clarke.
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Asked about why Alese was allowed to depart the club, Moyes said that he felt that it was a move that suited all parties.
Speaking to football.London, Moyes said: “We felt it was right he wanted to go. It was a good move. A couple of teams came in for him. It was good for the boy he has been a really good boy. He has worked well and we like him a lot. We thought to give him an opportunity was the best thing as we didn’t see a chance for him to heavily feature in the first team.”
Had the defender still been at the club, he may have been able to solve the club’s current issues at centre-back. Kurt Zouma was partnered by Ben Johnson at centre-back in Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City, with Nayef Aguerd, Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna all injured and Issa Diop on the verge of a move to Fulham.
During his time at the London Stadium, Alese made two first-team appearances, featuring against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League and Hull City in the Carabao Cup.
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