On-loan Sunderland centre back Frederik Alves says he wants to bethe best defender in League One, to give himself a route into West Ham's first-team next season.

Alves joined West Ham from Danish side Silkeborg back in the January transfer window, and has yet to make a first-team appearance for the Hammers.

That saw the 21-year-old join Sunderland on a season-long loan during the summer transfer window, in order to gain more regular game time.

Since then, Alves has gone on to make four appearances in all competitions for Sunderland this season, although he has yet to start in League One for the Black Cats, who currently top the third-tier standings.

Despite that, it seems Alves still has big ambitions for the rest of this season from an individual perspective, as he looks to catch the eye of those watching on from West Ham.

Speaking about his aims during his spell at The Stadium of Light, Alves told Bold.dk in his native Denmark: “This year I have to be the best defender in League One. I have to smash this league and then use my spell here as a springboard into the West Ham team.

“My first six months at West Ham was really cool and it has given me hunger for more. I had not seen this coming, moving to a club who are far from the Premier League, so it is wild and I am hungry.”

Next up for Alves and Sunderland, is a trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

Sunderland fans will certainly be hoping that Alves achieves his goal this season.

The Black Cats have made a strong start to the campaign this season, and if Alves is going to be as good as he hopes, then they will be very hard to beat going forward.

That would of course put them in a strong position to secure that long-awaited promotion back to the Championship, and contributing to that would surely put Alves in a stronger position to push for a place in West Ham's XI next season.

Should he manage that, then you imagine there will be a fair few Sunderland fans keeping an eye on his career moving forward, with some degree of interest.