Luis Hemir Semedo has left Sunderland after three years at the club.

Luis Hemir Semedo has spoken for the first time since completing his deadline day exit from Sunderland, explaining that the “project” at new club Clermont Foot ultimately convinced him to join the Ligue 2 outfit.

The 23-year-old endured a testing stint on Wearside after initially signing for the Black Cats from boyhood team Benfica back in 2023, and leaves the North East having registered just 23 appearances, four of which were starts. Across his time in England, Hemir failed to score a single goal.

More recently, the centre-forward has spent spells out on loan from the Stadium of Light, first linking up with Juventus’ Next Gen development side - where he scored twice in 27 outings - and then heading back to his native Portugal with Moreirense, where he netted three times in 21 appearances.

Hemir’s last senior outing for Sunderland came as a late substitute in a 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of Preston North End back in August 2024 - right at the beginning of Regis Le Bris’ tenure as head coach - and given his lack of first team opportunities in recent times, a permanent departure has been touted for quite a while.

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To that end, Sunderland confirmed the attacker’s exit on Tuesday morning, and speaking in his first interview as a Clermont Foot player, he expressed his excitement at embarking on the next chapter in his career. He said: “I immediately embraced the club’s project, and I’m eager to get started as soon as possible. I’m a player who loves to score goals, and I hope to score as many as possible at Clermont to help my team.”

For his part, Clermont Foot’s Director of Football, Karim Fradin, explained the decision behind his side’s swoop for Hemir, citing the forward’s high ceiling of potential. He said: “Luis joins us for the next three seasons with the ambition of continuing his progress and development. He’s a player with excellent attacking qualities, particularly a very good eye for goal. He still has significant room for improvement, and we’re convinced he can contribute to the team while continuing to grow while playing for Clermont Foot.”

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