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Liverpool loan centre-back Sebastian Coates to Sunderland for season

Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates has joined Sunderland on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old has followed fellow defenders Jack Robinson and Daniel Agger out of Anfield as manager Brendan Rodgers continues to move out his fringe players in the closing hours of the transfer window.

Coates, who moved to Liverpool from Uruguayan club Nacional for seven million pounds in August 2011, has struggled to establish himself on Merseyside.

He played only 12 Premier League games in two years before suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury while playing for Uruguay against Japan in August 2013.

After having surgery in South America, he was sent out on loan to Nacional in January to continue his rehabilitation and regain match fitness.

He returned to action before the end of the season and did enough to win a place in his country's World Cup squad.

The defender made a brief appearance at the finals in Brazil, playing the final two minutes of Uruguay's 2-1 Group D victory over England in Sao Paulo.