Sunderland have completed the signing of Liverpool youngster Ovie Ejaria. According to recent reports in the English media, the Black Cats are set to sign the Reds starlet on a loan deal for the remainder of the season. It has been confirmed by Sunderland boss Chris Coleman that Ejaria will be the first of many arrivals on the January transfer deadline day. In a recent interview, Coleman was asked to address the possible deadline day transfer dealings of the club and he was quoted to have said, “We will be bringing one in to replace him, the boy from Liverpool Ovie Ejaria is coming to us until the end of the season, which I am very excited about. He’s a good player and a good addition to the squad.
“And there’s another one that is not quite there yet – there is still a bit of a way to go, so it’s tough for me to name names because it is not over the line.
“That said, hopefully over the next 24 hours, we need on top of that another face, too, with a bit of experience hopefully.
“It has been a brutal transfer window for us but, in 24 hours if we get another two or three, then it will have been a good one for us, also.”
The 20-year-old Liverpool wonderkid joined from Arsenal’s youth team in the summer of 2014 and has since been developing his game playing in the youth ranks of the Merseyside club. The midfielder has put in a few eye-catching displays for the Reds during pre-season but has failed to break into Jurgen Klopp’s first-team so far. Ejaria has featured in 10 matches in Premier League 2 this season, scoring once and providing two assists.
Ejaria has become Sunderland’s third signing of this winter transfer window following the transfers of Jake Clarke-Salter and Kazenga Lua Lua. The 20-year-old’s arrival will bolster Coleman’s midfield options and provide more depth to the Sunderland squad going into the second half of their campaign. The London born player is highly rated at Anfield and is eager to play regular first-team football after excelling at the Merseyside club’s youth level.
Sunderland currently occupies the 23rd place in the Championship table with a tally of just 25 points after 29 league matches. They are in real danger of getting relegated at the end of the current campaign. Chris Coleman’s men are struggling to get any favourable results to go their way and were recently beaten by Birmingham City at the St. Andrew’s Stadium, which has highlighted that they would require a few more additions before the transfer window comes to a close at midnight tonight.
The Black Cats are still two points off safety and the addition of a promising talent like Ejaria, who can make clever runs from midfield, could propel them to avoid the drop this season. Only time will tell what lies ahead in the future of Ejaria and whether his loan spell at the Stadium of Light will help him break into the Liverpool first-team in the near future.
