Sunderland are now close to sealing a permanent exit for midfielder Pierre Ekwah

Pierre Ekwah is edging closer to a Sunderland exit as AS Saint-Etienne go through the final stages of signing the 23-year-old.

As reported by The Echo last month, AS Saint-Etienne had declared their intention to exercise their option to turn Ekwah's loan move into a permanent deal despite their relegation to Ligue 2. Ekwah played regularly last season and the team's head coach Eirik Homeland is eager to keep him as he rebuilds for the season ahead.

A new report from Evect En Vert Et Contre Tous, which covers As Saint-Etienne closely, has said that the club have indeed exercised their option to buy Ekwah but that an 'administrative detail' is at this stage delaying the deal from being announced. The Echo understands that is indeed the case, and that a deal is therefore thought to be close to completion. Sunderland negotiated a seven-figure loan fee when Ekwah departed last summer, and if and when the deal goes through they will earn another significant financial boost. French media have previously reported that the permanent fee is in the region of £6 million. A chunk of that will be owed to West Ham United, who negotiated a significant sell-on clause as part of the deal that saw Ekwah arrive on Wearside for a nominal fee but with future performance based add-ons.

There has been some doubt of Ekwah's long-term future at AS Saint-Etienne, with some reports in France that top-tier clubs could look to take advantage of that relegation to sign the 23-year-old. Regardless, he will at least for a time be a permanent AS Saint-Etienne player once the final paperwork has been completed and processed. The midfielder has not been back on Wearside for pre-season, given that he is expected to imminently depart. There are set to be a number of departures on Wearside this summer as the club overhauls its squad for the Premier League.

The Sunderland transfer latest as two deals draw close

The Black Cats are close to making two new additions to their squad ahead of the new campaign. Left back Reinildo Mandava had his medical in Madrid on Monday and providing there were no issues, the 31-year-old will put pen to paper on a two-year deal at the club.

Sunderland are also now very close to signing Club Brugge winger Chemsdine Talbi in a deal that could eventually reach €20 million. Talbi has arrived on Wearside for his medical and providing everything proceeds as planned will put pen to paper on a long-term contract, believed to be five years.

Sunderland still have much to do in the transfer market and are actively pursuing multiple further deals following the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi as the club's new director of football. Chelsea goalkeeper Djorde Petrovic is one target, though there is significant competition from Premier League rivals. Sunderland are also known to have opened talks with Sassuolo in their bid to sign the forward Armand Lauriente, though reports from Italy suggest that in the early stages of negotiations the two clubs are apart in their initial valuations.

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