Why West Ham allowed Pierre Ekwah to join Sunderland and what Cats fans can expect from new January signing

To find out more about the 21-year-old, we caught up with Hammers reporter Jonty Colman from Football London to ask about the Black Cats’ newest signing.

What sort of player is Ekwah?

JC: “Ekwah is a central midfielder who has qualities in multiple areas. He proved that in his final appearance for West Ham Under-21s against Manchester United last Friday, scoring the opening goal before providing an assist minutes later for Divin Mubama.

"He has plenty of quality, both in his attacking and his defensive work. If anything, he is known more for playing deeper and has also played as a centre-back, but has showed he can contribute going forward to, with five goals in 11 Premier League 2 matches this season.”

Why have West Ham allowed him to leave?

JC: “While he did show promise and has been one of the better under-21s players this season, West Ham do already have Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek, Flynn Downes and Conor Coventry as central midfield options and perhaps do not see an imminent route for first-team football for Ekwah, with plenty of players ahead of him.”

How close was he to the first-team set-up?

JC: “While he never made an official senior appearance, he did feature twice on the bench last season and twice this season, without coming on, three of those four were in Europe.

"He did however feature off the bench against Cambridge United last month in a mid-season friendly, scoring against the League One side.

"He has trained with the first-team squad on multiple occasions, but did not get the chance to make that official senior debut.”

How ready do you think he is to make an impact in the Championship?

JC: “Against Cambridge and versus Cheltenham Town in the Papa John’s Trophy, Ekwah has shown that he is more than capable of playing against League One sides, but the Championship is another step up, especially the end where Sunderland are.

"I think if it goes well, he has the potential to impress at that level. Watching him, there is a lot to like about his playing style and what he adds.”