Luis Hemir Silva Semedo’s first words after Sunderland signing confirmed

Sunderland have moved to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season by signing Luis Hemir Silva Semedo.

The Black Cats officially announced the acquisition of the 19-year-old on Sunday, subject to international clearance, in a club statement.

Semedo has put pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Stadium of Light, moving from Portuguese side Benfica for an undisclosed fee.

As per the Sunderland club statement, Luis Hemir Silva Semedo is known as ‘Hemir’.

Luis Hemir Silva Semedo’s first words as a Sunderland player

Speaking in the statement that announced his arrival at the club, Semedo spoke to Sunderland’s club media.

In the interview, the 19-year-old expressed his excitement about having joined the club.

“This is a big move for me and I am very excited to be here,” Semedo told Sunderland club media.

“Sunderland AFC have a lot of young players playing an important part in the team and I think this will be really good for my personal development.

“I’m excited to meet my new team mates, see the stadium and experience the fans.”

Kristjaan Speakman on Sunderland’s transfer

As part of the club club’s statement, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman also spoke to the club’s media channels regarding the transfer.

Speakman revealed that there was plenty of interest in signing the youngster.

“Hemir is very talented young player who’s motivated to develop and progress,” Speakman said.

“It was not an easy decision for him to leave a club where he has been since 8 years of age, and equally, it was not an easy acquisition for us considering the level of interest in him.

“He will complement our existing options in the final third and he possesses some great physical and technical attributes, so we are really happy he’s chosen to continue his career with SAFC.”

Who is Luis Hemir Silva Semedo?

As mentioned above, Semedo is joining Sunderland from Benfica.

Interestingly, this is where he came through the youth ranks, with Kristjaan Speakman’s comments above revealing he had been with the side since the age of eight.

Despite that, he never quite got around to making a senior appearance for the club.

Instead, Semedo’s performances were all for the club’s under-23 team, or their ‘B’ side.

For the club’s under-23’s for example, Semedo scored 21 goals in 44 appearances, and for the B team, Semedo netted twice in 21 appearances.

In the Benfica side that competed in the UEFA Youth League, Semedo also scored 10 goals in 14 matches.