Celtic battle Rangers to sign midfielder for FREE after contract termination

Cameron Smith

• 30 Sep 2025 12:00 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Celtic and Rangers are reportedly both interested in signing former Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah on a free transfer following the termination of his contract at Saint-Etienne.

Ekwah, 23, spent last season on loan at the French club and the deal was made permanent for a fee of £5.24 million (€6m) in August after Saint-Etienne opted to trigger their option-to-buy clause.

Current ETV

Pierre Ekwah

M, DM (C)

Saint-Etienne

Pierre Ekwah

M, DM (C)

Saint-Etienne

€7.6M

ETV Range

€6.5M - €8.8M

View full profile

However, French outlet Foot Mercato have revealed that Ekwah was furious at Saint-Etienne’s decision to sign him permanently, due to his unwillingness to play in Ligue 2 following their relegation from the top flight, and his contract has now been terminated.

This has been confirmed by journalist Mark Hendry on Substack, who has revealed that Celtic and Rangers have already contacted Ekwah’s representatives as they look to land the 23-year-old on a Bosman deal.

Ekwah is reportedly searching to join a new club and a move to Glasgow appears to be on the cards amid interest from both Celtic and Rangers.

The Frenchman, who spent three years in Chelsea’s academy before joining West Ham United in 2021, made 30 appearances across all competitions for Saint-Etienne last season, scoring one goal.

What has been said about Pierre Ekwah?

When asked about Ekwah in late August, Saint-Etienne boss Eirik Horneland admitted to reporters: “I obviously tried to make contact with Pierre Ekwah, more about the start of the pre-season, but unfortunately I did not receive a response.

“I have no information on a possible training program for Pierre Ekwah. Since then, the management has maintained dialogue […] Ekwah is under contract, he is supposed to play with us. It’s a complicated situation. We will see by the end of the week.”

Ekwah’s contract at Saint-Etienne now appears to have been terminated, although it remains to be seen if they will receive a refund after paying £5.24 million (€6m) to sign him from Sunderland this summer.

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