Aji Alese

Aji Alese

Alese warming up for West Ham United
Personal information
Full name	Ajibola Joshua Odunayo Afolarin Alese [1]
Date of birth	(2001-01-17) 17 January 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Islington, England
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) [2]
Position(s)	Central defender
Team information
Current team	Sunderland
Number	42
Youth career
0000–2019	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2022	West Ham United	0	(0)
2019–2020	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	10	(0)
2021	→ Cambridge United (loan)	2	(0)
2022–	Sunderland	40	(1)
International career‡
2017	England U16	6	(0)
2018	England U17	5	(0)
2018–2019	England U18	5	(0)
2019–2021	England U19	3	(0)
2020–2022	England U20	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:38, 12 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:47, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Ajibola Joshua Odunayo Afolarin Alese (born 17 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays for EFL Championship club Sunderland as a central defender.

A product of West Ham United's academy, he made his professional debut with the club in 2020. Following loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Cambridge United, Alese joined Sunderland in 2022.

Born in England, Alese is eligible to represent England and Nigeria at international level. He has played for England's youth teams from under-16 through under-20 level.

Club career

West Ham United

Alese began his career with West Ham United, turning professional in July 2018. ^[3] He moved on loan to Accrington Stanley in September 2019. ^{[4] [5]}

Alese made his West Ham debut on 22 September 2020, playing the full 90 minutes of a 5–1 EFL Cup third round victory over Hull City. ^[6]

On 1 February 2021, Alese moved on loan to Cambridge United. ^[7] He made only two appearances during his loan as Cambridge won promotion to League One. ^[8]

Sunderland

On 15 July 2022, Alese signed a three-year deal with Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. ^[9] He made his Black Cats debut on 6 August 2022, replacing Jack Clarke in the last few minutes of a 3–2 win against Bristol City. ^[10] Alese made his first league start on 14 September 2022 against Reading and was booked for time-wasting with nearly 30 minutes of the match still to play. ^[11] He scored his first Sunderland goal, also his first goal in senior football, on 17 September in a 2–2 away draw against Watford. ^[12]

International career

Born in England, Alese is of Nigerian descent. ^[13] He has represented the England under-16 team. ^[3] He was a member of the England under-17 squad that hosted the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship ^[14] and started in the semi-final defeat against the Netherlands. ^[15]

Alese has also represented the England under-18 team ^[16] and on 10 September 2018 played the whole game as England won away against France under-18. ^[17] In September 2019, Alese was called up to the England under-19 team. ^[18]

Alese made his U20 debut during a 2–0 victory over Wales at St George's Park on 13 October 2020. ^[19]

Style of play

Dmitri Halajko, who managed Alese at under-23 level at West Ham, has praised multiple attributes of Alese, saying "he's quick, good on the ball, he has a nice left foot, good range of passing and defends well in one-on-one situations", as well as his leadership skills, a trait former England U19 manager Paul Simpson has echoed. Accrington manager John Coleman has also commended Alese's versatility, saying "he is capable of playing left-back". ^[20]

Personal life

Born in Islington and raised in Romford, Alese is of Nigerian descent and eligible to play for Nigeria as well as England. ^[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
West Ham United	2019–20 [22]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21 [23]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2021–22 [24]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2019–20 [22]	League One	10	0	1	0	0	0	4 [b]	0	15	0
Cambridge United (loan)	2020–21 [23]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Sunderland	2022–23 [25]	Championship	20	1	2	0	1	0	1 [c]	0	24	1
	2023–24 [26]	Championship	8	0	1	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2024–25 [27]	Championship	12	0	1	0	0	0	—		13	0
	Total		40	1	4	0	1	0	1	0	46	1
Career total			52	1	5	0	2	0	6	0	65	1

1. Appearance in the UEFA Europa League.
2. Appearances in the EFL Trophy.
3. Appearance in the play-offs.

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/08/2018 and 31/08/2018". The Football Association. p. 1. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
2. "Aji Alese". 11v11. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
3. "Ajibola Alese signs professional terms with West Ham United". West Ham United F.C. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
4. "Ajibola Alese joins Accrington Stanley on loan until January". West Ham United F.C. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
5. "Accrington Stanley sign Preston's Connor Simpson & West Ham's Aji Alese". BBC Sport. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
6. "Now I can always say I've played for West Ham United". whufc.com. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
7. "Cambridge sign Drysdale & Alese on loan". BBC Sport.
8. "Loan Watch: Oladapo Afolayan and Aji Alese celebrate promotion | West Ham United". www.whufc.com.
9. "Sunderland sign West Ham defender Alese". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
10. Colman, Jonty (8 August 2022). "Aji Alese makes Sunderland debut after West Ham summer transfer exit". Football.London. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
11. Hunter, James (14 September 2022). "Reading vs Sunderland team news". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
12. Hunter, James (19 September 2022). "Sunderland's Aji Alese admits he has technology to thank for his first goal". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
13. "Ajibola Alese: West Ham United hand wonderkid new contract | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
14. Stone, Simon (3 May 2018). "European Under-17 Championship: England face extra scrutiny at home". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
15. "England knocked out of U17 Euro semi-final by Netherlands after penalty shootout". Football Association. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
16. Vegas, Paul. "West Ham youngster Aji Alese delighted with England U18 call". Tribal Football. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
17. "England U18s beat hosts France to seal Limoges title with three wins from three games". Football Association. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
18. "Young Lions begin U19 Euro preparations with games against Greece and Germany". Football Association. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
19. Veevers, Nicholas (13 October 2020). "TWO QUICKFIRE GOALS IN THE FIRST HALF SEAL WIN FOR LEE CARSLEY'S YOUNG LIONS AT SGP". TheFA.com. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
20. "Aji Alese: West Ham Under-23s' 'quiet leader' hoping for his chance at centre-back". The Athletic. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
21. "Aji Alese: What you need to know about Sunderland's new signing". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
22. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
23. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
24. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
25. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
26. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
27. "Games played by Aji Alese in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2024.