“I’d be demanding £20m” – Sunderland urged to seek huge fees for Ipswich Town-linked pair
FLW’s Sunderland fan pundit has discussed Ipswich Town’s interest in Pierre Ekwah and Dan Ballard
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Following their recent promotion to the Premier League, Ipswich Town have begun looking for new signings to bolster their squad ready for top-flight football.
Two players that Kieran McKenna’s side are reportedly interested in are Sunderland duo Pierre Ekwah and Dan Ballard, according to TBR Football.
Northern Irish centre-back Dan Ballard joined the Black Cats from Arsenal two years ago, whilst Frenchman Ekwah signed for the club from West Ham in January 2023.
McKenna has seemingly deemed the pair as suitable signings thanks to coming up against them this season, but with the duo being under contract at Sunderland until 2027, Ipswich may have to pay a big fee to prize them away.
Sunderland will likely receive a big fee if Dan Ballard and Pierre Ekwah are to leave
Given that Dan Ballard is 24 years of age and Pierre Ekwah is just 21, coupled with the fact they are under long-term deals at the Stadium of Light, you’d have thought that the duo wouldn’t come cheap this summer.
However, Ipswich will now have money to spend thanks to their promotion to the top-flight, and FLW’s Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, believes that the Black Cats should be holding firm for a big fee.
Jack told FLW, “I think Ballard’s fee will be really high, he’s not long signed a new deal until 2027, and Ekwah’s the same, but Ballard’s a really good centre-half.
“I’d be demanding £20 million and I don’t think that’s unfair given the player he has been for us over the past two seasons.
“Ekwah has struggled this season, but he’s still a good, talented player. He’s only a year and a half into professional football, so there’s plenty of time to improve, and I’d say between £5-10million would be a good deal.
“I can’t see either of them particularly leaving because I think we’re in a strong position to keep both of them with their long contracts, but we’ll have to see what happens.”
Long-term contracts give Sunderland some security this summer
Thanks to signing both players on a long-term deal, Sunderland could come into a nice payday this summer if Ipswich, or anyone else, were to sign Dan Ballard and Pierre Ekwah.
This is good planning from the Black Cats’ hierarchy, as if the duo only had one year left on their deals for example, they’d be forced to sell for cheap this summer.
