Franco-Ghanaian midfielder Pierre Ekwah terminate contract with Saint Etienne

France-born Ghanaian midfielder Pierre Ekwah has unilaterally terminated his contract with French outfit Saint Etienne.

The 23-year-old midfielder spent last season on loan at Saint Etienne from Sunderland before completing a permanent switch to the club in the summer window.

Despite suffering relegation, Saint Etienne opted to trigger the €6m purchase clause included in the original deal.

Ekwah has yet to make an appearance for Saint Etienne this season in the Ligue 2 due to illness and was granted a sick leave at the club.

The former Sunderland midfielder had offers during the transfer window, which were refused turned down by Saint-Étienne. Before the closure of the summer window, 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.

Currently, there have been talks with English, Belgian, and Italian teams over a possible move for the midfielder. 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.