# Pierre Ekwah

Pierre-Emmanuel Ekwah Elimby (born 15 January 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne, on loan from EFL Championship club Sunderland.

## Club career
### Early career

Born in Massy, Essonne, just outside of Paris, Ekwah began his career with amateur sides RC Arpajonnais, Bretigny FCS and CFF Paris, also spending two years in the INF Clairefontaine academy. He joined Nantes in 2017, spending one season before moving to England to join the academy of Chelsea. He signed his first professional deal with Chelsea in April 2019.
After three years with The Blues, in which he played in the UEFA Youth League and trained with the first team, he was linked with a move away from the club in 2021, going on trial with Portsmouth. He also trialled with West Ham United, playing the last two Premier League 2 games of the 2020–21 season for The Hammers, scoring once against Arsenal.
On 9 June 2021, West Ham United announced the signing of Ekwah from Chelsea on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

### Sunderland

After a year and a half, in which he was unable to break into the West Ham United first team, featuring in the EFL Trophy for the club's under-21 side, he was linked with a loan move to EFL Championship side Sunderland in January 2023. On 23 January 2023, he moved to Sunderland on a permanent transfer, penning a four-and-a-half-year deal.

#### Loan to Saint-Étienne

On 30 August 2024, Ekwah signed for Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne on a season-long loan with an option to buy for €7 million.

## International career

Ekwah is of Ghanaian and Cameroonian descent. Ekwah opted to represent France at youth international level.

## Style of play

A powerful figure, standing at 1.89 m tall, he has stated that his favourite role on the pitch is as a box-to-box midfielder, and lists Zinedine Zidane as his childhood idol. He has also played as a defensive midfielder, as well as dropping in to the back line to play as a left-back or centre-back.

## Personal life

Ekwah is the cousin of the footballers Paul-Georges Ntep, Ludéric, Romaric and Emeric Etonde, and the brother of the rugby player Charles-Edouard Ekwah Elimby.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 23 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| West Ham United U21 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| West Ham United U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Sunderland | 2022–23 | Championship | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Sunderland | 2023–24 | Championship | 42 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 |
| Sunderland | 2024–25 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sunderland | Total | Total | 56 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 5 |
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 75 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 88 | 6 |
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
* ↑ Appearance(s) in the Championship play-offs