Ajibola Joshua Odunayo Afolarin Alese (born 17 January 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays for EFL Championship club Sunderland as a central defender.

[4][5] Alese made his West Ham debut on 22 September 2020, playing the full 90 minutes of a 5–1 EFL Cup third round victory over Hull City.

[9] He made his Black Cats debut on 6 August 2022, replacing Jack Clarke in the last few minutes of a 3–2 win against Bristol City.

[3] He was a member of the England under-17 squad that hosted the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship[14] and started in the semi-final defeat against the Netherlands.

[19] Dmitri Halajko, who managed Alese at under-23 level at West Ham, has praised multiple attributes of Alese, saying "he's quick, good on the ball, he has a nice left foot, good range of passing and defends well in one-on-one situations", as well as his leadership skills, a trait former England U19 manager Paul Simpson has echoed.