Club Keen To Keep Hold Of Sunderland Loan Star | OneFootball

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French club Saint-Etienne have a desire to keep hold of Sunderland loan star Pierre Ekwah and want to activate their option-to-buy clause to sign him permanently.

The defensive midfielder, who joined the Black Cats from West Ham in January 2023, notched up 43 appearances overall in his first full season as a Sunderland player.

However, he was sent out on loan to Ligue 1 the very next summer.

For Saint-Etienne, Ekwah played an overall 30 matches, leaving an impression on manager Eirik Horneland.

The Norwegian manager wants to have the 23-year-old at his disposal again next season and has asked his club to trigger the clause.

According to France Bleu, the club have plans to activate the option-to-buy clause in Ekwah’s loan contract.

It would bring an end to Ekwah’s two-and-a-half-year stint with the Stadium of Light-based club.

Ekwah, a French citizen, moved to England from Nantes as a youngster, joining Chelsea initially and then West Ham.

His senior debut, though, had to wait and happened only once he joined the Black Cats.

A return to his parent club would have given him the chance to play in the Premier League for the first time.

Ekwah admitted recently that missing out on winning promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland the previous season felt like a slap in the face.

He also was clear, as Saint-Etienne fought to survive in Ligue 1, that it was giving him a tough mental challenge.