Sunderland sign Mepham, Aleksic, Abdullahi & Samed

Chris Mepham joined Bournemouth from Brentford in 2019

Sunderland have signed defender Chris Mepham from Bournemouth, midfielder Milan Aleksic from Serbian side FK Radnicki 1923, striker Ahmed Abdullahi from Belgian side KAA Gent and Ghana international Salis Abdul Samed.

Mepham has joined the early Championship leaders on loan until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old, who has won 46 caps for Wales, has been at Bournemouth since 2019 when he joined from Brentford.

Aleksic, who turned 19 on Friday, has signed a four-year deal at the Stadium of Light for an undisclosed fee.

Nigeria Under-20 international Abdullahi, 20, has also signed a four-year contract with a club option for a further 12 months after arriving for an undisclosed fee.

He scored 21 goals in 28 appearances in the Belgian third tier for Gent's development side last season.

Midfielder Samed, 24, joins from French side RC Lens on loan until the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah, 22, has joined French club St Etienne on a season-long loan.

And defender Timothee Pembele will also be spending the rest of the season out on loan, at Le Havre.

Pierre Ekwah made 42 appearances for Sunderland in the Championship last season