Lisbon (AFP) – Uruguay international defender Sebastian Coates penned a five-year deal with Sporting Lisbon on Thursday having left English Premier League strugglers Sunderland, the Portuguese side announced.

The 26-year-old Coates had been on loan with Sporting since January 2016 having made 32 appearances for Sunderland who he joined from Liverpool.

Sporting said they had exercised an option to make the loan deal permanent for a fee believed to be five million euros.