Ex-West Ham, Swansea and Celtic man pictured in Sunderland shirt confirms he isn't on trial

Ex-Celtic and West Ham attacker Armstrong Oko-Flex, who was pictured wearing a Sunderland shirt on his Instagram amid rumours of a trial, has confirmed that he isn't training with the Black Cats.

The Dublin-born winger is now a free agent after his contract with the London club came to an end this summer. The 21-year-old made one appearance in the Europa Conference League last season, which West Ham ended up winning.

Oko-Flex also spent time in the Championship last season with a loan to Welsh club Swansea City yielding 13 Championship appearances but no goals.

The player started his youth career in Ireland before being spotted by Arsenal and then Celtic. He made his first team debut for the Scottish giants club as a substitute against Hibernian in January 2021.

However, Oko-Flex only made another three appearances for Celtic before joining West Ham at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, going on to play with current Black Cats players Pierre Ekwah and Aji Alese in London.

Responding to the rumours of a Sunderland move, Oko-Flex said: "Sunderland's a great club but no I am not on trial there. It's a shirt I swapped with my ex-teammate Alese. I was simply wearing it in off-season training."

In other news, Sunderland have today announced that Ben Middlemas has signed a new contract with the club.

The news follows attackers Michael Spellman and Harry Gardiner extending their time at Sunderland alongside 16-year-old Chris Rigg. Middlemas has penned a new deal until 2025 with the option of an extra year.