"The hard facts" - Sunderland: Kristjaan Speakman issues Pierre Ekwah update | OneFootball

Pierre Ekwah was loaned out to France on transfer deadline day

Kristjaan Speakman has explained the reason behind Pierre Ekwah’s Sunderland departure.

The midfielder made the switch to French side Saint-Étienne on transfer deadline day, signing on loan for the rest of the season.

Ekwah had become an important part of the Black Cats’ first team squad, making 40 league appearances last season as the team came 16th in the table (all stats from Fbref).

However, he did not feature in any of their opening fixtures this season prior to his move to Ligue 1.

This development will come as a surprise to many Sunderland supporters, given how regularly he featured last year prior to Régis le Bris’ appointment as head coach over the summer.

Speakman explains Ekwah transfer

Speakman has claimed that a lack of first team opportunities under le Bris was behind the decision to offload the player on a temporary basis.

He is hoping that Ekwah will play regularly in France, and that this move will work out best for all parties involved.

“Pierre’s got three years left on his contract, but if you look at the minutes, he is not in the team and that is the hard facts on it,” said Speakman, via The Northern Echo.

“We were just trying to work out what was the best next step for him.

“There were a number of opportunities that came up, one of which was Saint-Étienne.

“I think it was a significant loan offer, gave him an opportunity to play in a different environment, in a different league, and enabled us to be able to keep him playing regularly, which arguably he might not have done maybe in the first opening sequence of the season.

“With his injury, he just ended up being a little bit further down in the selection order.

“For us, it was a good opportunity and freed up another midfield space for us to bring a different type of player in with Salis [Abdul Samed] and Milan [Aleksic].

“It was just around us composing what we feel is the right squad for the upcoming season.”

Sunderland’s league position

Sunderland have made a very positive start to the new Championship season, winning all four of their opening fixtures.

The Black Cats are the only side left in the division with a 100 per cent win record, and sit top of the standings.

New signings Alan Browne and Milan Aleksic have arrived to strengthen the midfield area, leaving room for Ekwah to depart.

Next up for Sunderland is a trip to face Plymouth Argyle on 14 September.

Ekwah loan move could be what’s best for all parties

If Ekwah wasn’t in the team’s immediate first team plans, then a loan move to Ligue 1 could prove to be the right call for this season.

Sunderland have strengthened in midfield this summer, leaving Ekwah further down their pecking order.

While he performed well last year, the team’s overall form did suffer, so making this change isn’t the worst idea either.

A loan move also allows the player’s value to stay reasonably high, whereas sitting on the bench would hurt Sunderland’s asset if they looked to sell him on a permanent basis in 2025.