Pierre Ekwah found it difficult to find place at Sunderland under Régis Le Bris and the English club let him join AS Saint-Étienne on loan with a buying option in the summer of 2024.
Last season, the midfielder featured regularly for Saint-Étienne, who were relegated from the Ligue 1. They then, in a move which surprised everyone including the player, used their clause and paid €6m to Sunderland to buy him.
Last month, we covered claims from France that Ekwah wasn’t aware Saint-Étienne were signing him from Sunderland and tried to leave them in the summer window but wasn’t successful.
On September 10th, Jeunes Footeux reported he continues to boycott training at Saint-Étienne. This is echoed by iCi, who say there’s a new episode in the ‘soap opera’ around the 23-year-old as he’s now said to be sick.
It’s claimed the former Sunderland man has been ‘absent’ from training since the start of the season and Saint-Étienne manager Eirik Horneland is hopeful he returns soon, iCi have relayed his comments.
“We just have to hope that Pierre is doing well and that he’ll return as soon as possible. If I’m on sick leave, if you are, nothing can be said on that subject. All of this remains confidential, both in football and in normal life,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ekwah’s teammate at the Ligue 2 side, Maxime Bernauer, attended the pre-match press conference on Thursday, where he was asked about the ex-Black Cats man’s situation.
“I don’t want to talk about Pierre Ekwah’s situation. I don’t have all the information, and it wouldn’t necessarily be very healthy to talk about that,” Bernauer explained, quoted by Peuple Vert.
“I haven’t spoken with Pierre. I know it’s a complicated situation for him and for the club. I’ll let them manage it between themselves. We started back on June 19, we had a lot of work to do. Now, it’s certain that if Pierre is brought back, it will be even more beneficial for the squad. These are extra-sporting matters and we, as players, don’t necessarily have control over them.”
