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Pierre Ekwah
	Pierre Ekwah in 2024.
Personal information
Full name	Pierre-Emmanuel Ekwah Elimby
Date of birth	15 January 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Massy, France
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Saint-Étienne; (on loan from Sunderland)
Number	4
Youth career
2009–2011	RC Arpajonnais
2011–2016	Bretigny FCS
2016–2017	CFF Paris
2017–2018	Nantes
2018–2021	Chelsea
2021–2023	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team
2023–	Sunderland
2024–	→ Saint-Étienne (loan)
International career‡
2017–2018	France U16
2021–2022	France U20
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:51, 29 November 2024 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:42, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

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.^[2]^[3] He joined Nantes in 2017, spending one season before moving to England to join the academy of Chelsea.^[4] He signed his first professional deal with Chelsea in April 2019.^[5]

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.^[4] 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.^[6]

On 9 June 2021, West Ham United announced the signing of Ekwah from Chelsea on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.^[6]^[7]

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.^[8] On 23 January 2023, he moved to Sunderland on a permanent transfer, penning a four-and-a-half-year deal.^[9]^[10]

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.^[11]^[12]

International career

Ekwah is of Ghanaian and Cameroonian descent.^[13]^[3] Ekwah has represented France at youth international level.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[3]^[6]

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.^[14]^[15]

Career statistics

As of match played 13 August 2024^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
West Ham United U21	2021–22	—	—		—		—		—		2^[a]	0	2	0
West Ham United U21	2022–23	—	—		—		—		—		3^[a]	0	3	0
Sunderland	2022–23	Championship	14	0	2	0	—		—		2^[b]	0	18	0
	2023–24	Championship	42	5	1	0	1	0	—		0	0	44	5
	2024–25	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		56	5	3	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	63	5
Career total			56	5	3	0	2	0	0	0	7	0	68	5