Ipswich Town-linked pair as Sunderland urged to seek £20m huge fees for star player

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.

It’s well-documented that Sunderland’s recruitment model involves signing promising young players, developing them into first-team regulars, before hoping to sell them on for more money in the future.

This shows that it’s worked perfectly in this scenario, as Ballard and Ekwah were signed from the academies of Arsenal and West Ham, and Sunderland are set to make a huge profit on the pair if they cash in this summer.

Ultimately, it’ll be up to Ipswich to make Sunderland an offer deemed good enough if they’re to sign the pair this summer, and the Black Cats’ board will be comfortable knowing that the contract situation of both Ballard and Ekwah means that they aren’t in a position where they’re forced to sell for cheap this summer.