Sunderland have faced a lot of interest in their key players in recent weeks.
The Black Cats are yet to sell any of their star men, but have already reportedly turned down a £7 million bid for Trai Hume.
Jobe Bellingham, Dan Ballard and Chris Rigg were all targets for Premier League clubs but are now expected to stay at Sunderland, with the latter two signing new contracts.
With Jack Clarke yet to receive any concrete offers, Pierre Ekwah currently looks the most likely to leave Wearside this month.
The Frenchman was reportedly in contact with Serie A club Udinese, but a deal is yet to progress.
Pierre Ekwah wanted in the Premier League
However, it now looks like Ekwah could be offered an even more attractive move to the English top flight.
According to africafoot, Leicester City have approached Sunderland over a permanent deal for the midfielder.
The report claims that head coach Steve Cooper is ‘admiring’ of the player and has asked the Foxes to snap him up.
Leicester have just won promotion back to the Premier League, but have seen both Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Dennis Praet depart their midfield since.
The Midlands outfit do still have the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks and Hamza Choudhury though, so it seems likely that Ekwah would act as a back-up in the top flight.
Despite that, it would be hugely surprising if the 22-year-old didn’t favour a move to the King Power Stadium.
Ekwah’s exit should be a no-brainer for Sunderland
Ekwah isn’t guaranteed a place in Sunderland’s starting line-up this term after an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign, so surely the promise of top flight football is more tempting even if he isn’t a starter.
The Black Cats could make millions from his sale too, so should really jump at the chance at offloading him.
Ekwah showed huge potential when he first joined, but rapidly went off the boil and is one of the club’s most inconsistent midfielders.
Jobe, Chris Rigg, Dan Neil and Alan Browne are all likely to compete for the three starting positions against Cardiff, while the futures of Elliot Embleton and Jay Matete are also yet to be decided.
Sunderland just need to sign a defensive midfielder so Neil is no longer forced to stay back, and it could soon seem like Ekwah isn’t really needed.
If the Wearside club can earn over £5m from his departure then it seems like a no-brainer.
He is a very likeable guy though, so there is no doubt that supporters would be cheering him on wherever he ended up.