Sunderland have announced that their central defender Sebastian Coates has made his loan move to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon a permanent deal.
Moving on
The Uruguayan defender started his life at the Stadium of Light on loan from Liverpool, joining then Gus Poyet's men back in June 2015.
He signed on a permanent basis the season after, but only lasted until January when he moved to Estádio José Alvalade on a temporary basis in January 2016.
The 26-year-old has made 41 appearances so far in all competitions with three goals this season, Coates ended his career on Wearside with 31 appearances.
Delighted to be reunited
This week sees a new horizon at the the Academy of Light, with Elliott Dickman taking over the reigns of the U23's after Andy Welsh's departure for Championship side Wigan Athletic.
Dickman watched on during Sunday's clash with Liverpool, but his first game will be on Friday with Manchester City, and full-back Josh Robson stated that he is looking forward to reuniting with Dickman.
"I have worked with him in previous years," Robson told safc.com. "So it will be good to work with him again."
“Most of the lads in the dressing room have worked with him," the defender stated. "And they already know what he is about and how he likes to play."
“He knows pretty much everything there is to know about us," he stressed. "So he knows how we like to play."
"He has been at our matches previously this year so it’s nothing new to him," the 19-year-old admitted. “I’m looking forward to it because it’s a different challenge now."
"But there won’t be much change to the way we play," Robson concluded. "Although I’m sure he will look to implement a few things.”
Sunderland AFC will take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, February 4 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.