The £6million Sunderland transfer will now not go through after Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne were relegated

Pierre Ekwah is set to return to Sunderland this summer after Saint-Étienne’s relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed on Saturday evening, a development that will see the French club opt against activating their option to buy the midfielder.

Ekwah, 23, joined ASSE on loan last summer, having been deemed surplus to requirements by head coach Regis Le Bris, and has been one of the few bright spots in what has ultimately been a dismal season for the French outfit. Reports from April indicated that Saint-Étienne would only consider triggering their £6million option-to-buy clause if they avoided relegatio, a scenario that no longer applies following their confirmed drop into the second tier.

Despite showing glimpses of quality and enjoying a relatively solid individual campaign, Ekwah’s efforts were not enough to help Saint-Étienne bridge the gap to safety. The former Sunderland regular featured prominently in midfield, offering energy and control, but ASSE fell short, ending the season three points off the relegation play-off spot and six from guaranteed safety.

As a result, the £6million permanent transfer is now off the table, and Ekwah will return to the Academy of Light in the coming weeks. What happens next for the midfielder is uncertain. His future will likely hinge on Sunderland’s outcome in next weekend’s Championship play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley.

Should Sunderland secure promotion to the Premier League, Sunderland would likely look to move Ekwah, given his lack of Premier League experience. But should they fall short, Ekwah could be in with an outside chance of returning to Le Bris’ squad to fight for his place.

Ekwah joined Sunderland from West Ham in January 2023 and initially impressed with his physicality and distribution, but found first-team opportunities limited this season under new management. His loan to Saint-Étienne was intended to offer him more consistent minutes, something he largely achieved, even amid the club’s struggles.

What has Kristjaan Speakman said about Pierre Ekwah’s future?

Kristjaan Speakman revealed his thought process behind Pierre Ekwah’s loan move to France during an interview at the start of last summer.

“Pierre's got three years left on his contract (now two), and look at the minutes not in the team is the hard facts on it,” Speakman said when asked about Ekwah’s departure by The Echo last summer. “We were just trying to work out what was the best next step for him.

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“There were a number of opportunities that came up, one of which was Saint Etienne. I think it was a significant loan offer, gave him an opportunity to play in a different environment, in a different league and enabled us to be able to keep him playing regularly, which arguably he might not have done, maybe in the first opening sequence of the season.

“Because with his injury, he just ended up being a little bit further down in the selection order. For us, it was a good opportunity and freed up another midfield space for us to bring a different type of player in with Salis (Abdul Samed) and Milan (Aleksic). It was just around us composing what we feel is the right squad for the upcoming season.”

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