Sunderland look set to offload at least one player before the summer transfer window shuts later this month.
Sunderland have had a frustrating summer transfer window, having signed just four new players.
So far this summer, Kristjaan Speakman has brought in four free agents at the Stadium of Light; Simon Moore, Blondy Nna Noukeu, Alan Browne, and Ian Poveda, but no new strikers.
Sunderland have been linked with Alexandre Mendy at Caen, along with names like Ike Ugbo and Divin Mubama who’s set to join Manchester City.
Regis Le Bris says he’d like a new striker signing before the end of the summer transfer window.
Though right now it seems like there’s a bit of focus shifting towards potential player exits on Wearside, with midfielder Pierre Ekwah currently looking like the most likely candidate to be sold.
Recent reports have revealed that Sunderland have rejected a bid from Udinese for Ekwah, with the bid totalling around £4.2million.
Now, journalist Michael Graham has had his say on the speculation.
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Michael Graham shares Pierre Ekwah verdict at Sunderland amid Udinese interest
Sunderland signed Ekwah from West Ham in January 2023, with the transfer fee undisclosed.
Though it’s widely reported that West Ham are owed somewhere between 30-35% of any future sale of the Frenchman.
22-year-old Ekwah impressed in his first half-season with Sunderland but failed to kick on last time round, even being labelled as the Championship’s most disappointing player in 2023/24.
Graham though believes that Sunderland should move on from a potential sale of Ekwah this summer, unless the transfer fee comes into eight-figures.
Should Kristjaan Speakman offload Pierre Ekwah at Sunderland
Given the competition in the centre of midfield this season, with the arrival of Browne and the continuing emergence of Chris Rigg, Ekwah certainly seems like a dispensable asset for the Sunderland owners.
But like Graham says, if it’s for a fee of around £4million then Sunderland would only receive about £3million of that, and it simply wouldn’t be worth the Black Cats’ time.
Ekwah has the potential to go on and become another £15million, or even £20million-rated player in the Sunderland ranks.
Despite that, game-time could be more difficult for him to come by this season, and after his disappointing 2023/24 season, whether or not Ekwah can realistically reach the heights that fans think he can, remains to be seen.
That said, Sunderland could really do with some spending money in their striker pursuit, so what the club makes of Udinese’s attempts to sign Ekwah remains to be seen.