Pierre Ekwah: 'I can call Sunderland home now and I just think it's beautiful'

Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah is a man with many Premier League admirers, but he's very happy where he is.

Pierre Ekwah says he has no intention to leave Wearside any time soon, saying of Sunderland: “I can call it home now and I just think it's beautiful.’

Ekwah is a man with many admirers in the Premier League, with Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest both heavily linked with a big money move for him in January.

He was also the subject of an offer from German side Stuttgart in the summer, highlighting his rapid development since arriving from West Ham a year ago without a senior appearance under his belt.

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Ekwah, who has scored four times this season, says he is very happy at Sunderland, a club which he considers ‘perfect’ and a ‘privilege’ to play for.

"I went from West Ham Under-21s to the Championship and the play-offs in not even a year," Ekwah said.

"It's a pleasure to play for this club and play week in, week out. I'm definitely happy here, for my development as a person and a footballer it's the perfect place. And you can see a lot of people are enjoying themselves."

After a slightly rocky start that including giving away a last-minute penalty in one of his first games, Ekwah has established himself as a firm favourite among the Sunderland supporters.

That connection and affection is definitely not just a one-way street either, with the Frenchman saying he now considers the Stadium of Light ‘home.’

"Let me tell you, playing in front of them (the fans) is just brilliant," he said.

"You can't really put it into words. Every game there are 40,000 people, I just find it crazy and so good.

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"I remember my first home game, wow, the noise was just crazy. Since then I've always said, if you can play here where else can you not play?

"You have to give the fans the joy of watching the game. You need to give them something to get off their seats, so you understand when they're frustrated sometimes. The fans will let us know what the game is like and here you can hear it, when you're doing good it's brilliant, it's brilliant.

"The more you play at home, the more you call it home. It feels really emotional to hear it and to hear the excitement. I can call it home now and I just think it's beautiful."

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