Newcastle United really are trying to sign Hugo Ekitike, it seems.
We shared quotes from Fabrizio Romano just a few hours ago, where he revealed that Newcastle are “working on a deal” to sign the Eintracht Frankfurt star, who he claimed to be a “top target” now Joao Pedro opted for Chelsea instead.
Fast forward to Monday tea time and Sky Sports have issued an update, via their main man in Germany, Florian Plettenberg.
He reveals that Newcastle have now opened ‘concrete talks’ with Ekitike’s camp and are pushing to reach a verbal agreement with the player.
Sky Germany also report that Newcastle are ready to pay the fee demanded by Eintracht Frankfurt, although there has been no ‘official negotiations’ between Toon chiefs and the Bundesliga side as of yet.
Man Utd and Liverpool are thought to be ‘in the race’, but it’s clear Newcastle are making early moves on the player’s side and seem willing to pay the fee required to land the Frenchman.
Following up on Sky’s update, Romano has posted on X: ‘Negotiations between Newcastle and Eintracht for Hugo Ekitike remain underway, as revealed last week and confirmed today.
‘Talks between all parties involved are ongoing to discuss financial package on both clubs/player side.’
🚨⚫️⚪️ Newcastle have opened concrete talks with the camp of Hugo #Ekitike and are trying to reach a verbal agreement now. New talks today on site. #NUFC are ready to pay the package demanded by Eintracht Frankfurt, but there have been no official negotiations between the clubs… pic.twitter.com/1Gb7h5WJ4J
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 14, 2025