It’s that time of year again, when the gossip mill begins to spin and the regular gang of ‘ITK’ journalists begin to grin with delight at the idea of leading football fans in a merry dance as the January transfer window approaches and top division clubs pull out their chequebooks.
For us, it’s been midfielder Pierre Ekwah who is ‘rumoured to have appeared on the radars’ of Premier League clubs after just under a year on Wearside (a story that will doubtless be reheated in the coming weeks with Burnley still supposedly at the front of the queue).
In the first place, true top-tier interest in Ekwah is scarcely surprising.
He’s a tremendously influential figure in the Sunderland engine room when he’s on his game, and while he’s suffered somewhat since returning from a dead leg, he’s a player with huge potential and a high ceiling.
Is he currently good enough to play in the Premier League? Most likely not. Could he be one day? Yes, which is why West Ham fans were outraged and irritated by his departure, despite the fact that their former academy graduate made a positive impression after moving to Wearside.
For whatever reason, Ekwah hasn’t seemed like the happy, upbeat personality in Sunderland’s squad that we know and love in recent weeks. Whether because to Tony Mowbray’s departure or his personal slump in form, he’s frequently appeared worried on the pitch, with his head down and his confidence apparently low.
However, the mindset of ‘if someone offers us X amount of money for Ekwah, we should sell’ is far too casual in my opinion, and to be honest, I’m sick of the long-running theme of certain players being highlighted as ripe for a transfer, either on loan or permanently, when they have a run of poor performances.
It’s the Sunderland way to express faith in these lads in 2023, even if their form fluctuates.
Okay, we may have gone a little too far in our faith in Abdoullah Ba in recent weeks, but confidence is important for young players, and knowing that they have something to contribute is far more positive than leaving them out in the cold and unsure of what they need to do to get back into the squad.
If Ekwah had been dropped after surrendering a late penalty against the Tigers last season, his Sunderland career could have taken a very different path. Thankfully, he wasn’t, for which Mowbray deserves credit, and the idea that we should be willing to say goodbye to him next month is absurd.
It’s fair to argue that he still has some way to go before resuming his early-season form, but any progress is good progress, and the last two games have been a real contrast.
After a dreadful performance against Coventry on Saturday, in which Ekwah was largely responsible for the second goal we conceded, his performance against Hull was a much-needed step in the right direction.
There was more effort, more optimism, and he stuck to the essentials and performed them well. He also appeared sharper, more focused, and ready to make amends for the weekend’s lifeless performance.
The Tigers are no slouches, especially in their own backyard, and this was the type of performance that would have buoyed Ekwah’s spirits after the demoralising loss to the Sky Blues, while also sending a message to new head coach Michael Beale.
Looking ahead to how he can continue to influence games, the next two of which are almost surely wins, Ekwah isn’t the type of defensively-minded midfielder who will be one of the bedrocks of a promotion-winning campaign.
Unless Beale can coax something extra from him or change his entire approach to football, he will not storm into tackles, empty the tank in a defensive effort, or set out to scare the opposition from the start of games.
That is simply not his skill set, and we will almost surely look to the transfer market in January for a truly game-changing CDM to fill a need left by Corry Evans’ departure.
However, Ekwah’s drive, passing range, and determination to move forward whenever possible are all significant strengths, and if Beale can harness that and gradually guide Ekwah back to his best form, he’ll be a valuable asset for the rest of the season.
I’m sure players will depart Wearside next month, mostly on loan rather than permanently, but Ekwah should not be one of them.
The landscape may change in a year or two, after he’s acquired more experience and ideally played his part in a promotion-winning campaign, but for now, there’s no better place for him than the Stadium of Light.
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