The “crazy thing” that has truly impressed Pierre Ekwah at Sunderland has been explained.
Pierre Ekwah, who had no prior experience playing senior football, signed a permanent contract with Sunderland in January 2023.
The midfield player was thrown into the deep end with the Black Cats after making a few appearances for the youth teams of Chelsea and West Ham.
Ekwah has nearly reached his 50th senior appearance for the team and has become a mainstay under Michael Beale and Tony Mowbray.
The Frenchman has talked highly of Sunderland and how happy he is on Wearside, despite being linked to a move away in both the summer and January windows.
Although he has received criticism on occasion for his lackluster performances this season, he has not let it stop him from cheering on the fans and praising the team.
“Playing for them is brilliant,” Ekwah said in an interview with Sunderland Echo regarding the supporters.
“You can’t really put it into words. Every time it was around forty thousand, it was a revelation to me. It is crazy and amazing that you play every game in front of 40,000 people, in my opinion.
As soon as you hear it, even though you have never been in those kinds of environments, you do not know. This was my first-ever match, a cup match against Fulham. I was like, “Oh wow, so many people watching you,” before we played Fulham. There are a lot of people watching you; we went to Millwall over the weekend. The noise is just crazy. Where else can you not play if you can not play here?
What has happened to Pierre Ekwah?
It is true that Pierre Ekwah has not performed to the same level as he did the previous season, but I am not sure that is entirely his fault.
The 22-year-old has frequently been asked to play further back than he would like to because of our lack of depth in the middle of the park. He has appeared much better since being allowed more flexibility to advance.
We can only hope Mike Dodds can bring out the best in Michael Beale once more, as he made most of the players look pretty bad.
Ekwah is obviously very talented, and it is obvious that he loves the club. We want him to help us reach the Premier League because he is the exact type of young professional we need.