Pierre Ekwah unilaterally cancels Saint-Étienne contract amid talks with English clubs | OneFootball

Pierre Ekwah’s (23) entourage have informed L’Équipe that the player has unilaterally cancelled his contract at AS Saint-Étienne.

Ekwah played at Saint-Étienne last season, whilst on loan from Sunderland. Despite Les Verts’ relegation to Ligue 2, they opted to trigger the €6m purchase clause included in the original deal. However, the French midfielder has categorically refused to play with ASSE in Ligue 2; he is yet to play a single minute this season and, officially, is on “sick leave”.

There were offers for the former Sunderland midfielder during the transfer window, which were refused by Saint-Étienne. And then on 1st September, just before the closure of the transfer window on 1st September, Ekwah chose to universally cancel his contract with the club for “just cause”.

His lawyer believes that, having broken the contract before the closure of the transfer window, his client is free to sign with another club as a free agent. There have been talks with English, Belgian, and Italian teams. Ekwah’s lawyer is also evoking the Lassna Diarra ruling back in 2024 as a means of getting his client out of his ASSE contract.

However, as far as Saint-Étienne are concerned, the player is still under contract until 2029. This looks to be the start of a long dispute.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle