Sunderland are ready to offload one senior player for a seven-figure fee.
The Black Cats are just days away from the transfer window slamming shut and are expected to still carry out plenty of business.
Sunderland still want to bring in two new strikers following Wilson Isidor’s arrival and were reported to have made a £5 million bid for Tom Cannon yesterday.
There is also the belief that they could yet bolster their midfield and defence, with a number of current players likely to leave before Friday’s deadline.
Nectarios Triantis, Joe Anderson, Timothee Pembele, Jewison Bennette and Luis Hemir have all been linked with loan exits.
Meanwhile, there could be several permanent departures too, with Pierre Ekwah and Adil Aouchiche being two midfielders who may face the chopping block.
The former has attracted interest from across Europe for most of the summer, while his lack of game-time so far this season could suggest a move away is near.
Sunderland demand up to £6m for out-of-favour midfielder
Ekwah had previously been linked with a move to Udinese, while Foot Mercato have now reported that Saint-Etienne have joined the race for his signature.
The French outfit were promoted to Ligue 1 last term and are looking to strengthen their side after losing their two opening matches.
It’s unclear whether Udinese still want the ‘amazing’ midfielder, but it is likely Saint-Etienne could launch a bid over the next few days.
It now looks like Sunderland are open to selling Ekwah too, with the report claiming they will demand between €6 and €7 million (£5-£5.9m).
The Black Cats are clearly expecting not to offer the 22-year-old many minutes this season but want to earn a reasonable amount after previously rejecting Udinese’s £4.3m offer.
It has also been claimed that West Ham would earn a whopping 35% of the profit Sunderland make on his departure.
If he was to leave for £5m, this means that the Wearside outfit would only earn £3.25m.
Sunderland should cash in on Pierre Ekwah ASAP
It is believed that Ekwah moved to the Stadium of Light for no up-front cost, but there was a number of clauses included. It’s hard to work out how much money they will have actually made in comparison to what they have spent on him in recent years, but it still seems like a fair deal.
Interested parties aren’t going to cough up much more for Ekwah and making a few million on him will definitely benefit Sunderland in their remaining transfer plans.
If the Black Cats can complete a deal over the next couple of days then that will give them time to bring in those key strikers and perhaps some further additions before the deadline.
Ekwah’s exit is a real shame given how exciting he looked when he first joined, but it seems highly unlikely that he would force his way back into the team ahead of the likes of Alan Browne, Dan Neil and Chris Rigg.