Crystal Palace and Fulham are interested in a January move for Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah.
The 21-year-old Frenchman left the West Ham academy to sign a four-and-a-half-year deal with Sunderland in January, and has since made 35 appearances for the Championship club.
Ekwah, a box-to-box midfielder, was at Chelsea’s academy between 2018 and 2021, and is also attracting interest from Nottingham Forest.
Both Fulham and Palace have marked central midfield as a priority position ahead of the January transfer window.
Despite Joao Palhinha signing a new contract in September, Fulham are resigned to the fact the highly sought-after Portuguese international may soon move on.
Meanwhile, Palace are without the injured Cheick Doucoure for the rest of the season and further injuries have seen centre-back Chris Richards deployed in central midfield.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson and chairman Steve Parish have both spoken openly about the club’s January plans to bolster their midfield.
Sunderland want to keep hold of Ekwah beyond January.
They sit seventh in the Championship as they target a push for a play-off spot under new manager Michael Beale in the second half of the season.
