Newcastle United are pushing to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt and are prepared to smash their transfer record to do so.
Newcastle’s transfer record stands at £63million paid to Real Sociedad for Alexander Isak in 2022. It came after The Magpies twice missed out on signing Ekitike from Stade de Reims, despite having a £25million bid accepted.
Ekitike joined Paris Saint-Germain instead, while Isak has flourished at Newcastle with 62 goals in 109 appearances for the club.
Although Ekitike’s spell at PSG proved to be difficult, he ended up reigniting his career in the Bundesliga with Frankfurt. His 22 goals in all competitions last season have made him one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe this summer.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in the French forward but Newcastle have acted first with a reported £69million club record bid.
Newcastle United want to finalise Hugo Ekitike transfer as ‘super agent’ travels to Tyneside
According to ESPN’s Julien Laurens, super agent Ali Barat has flown over to Newcastle to thrash out a deal for Ekitike.
Laurens tweeted: “Super agent Ali Barat is currently in Newcastle to finalise the Hugo Ekitike deal. Around 80m euros [£69.5million] for the French striker from Frankfurt who had a great last season in the Bundesliga.”
Ekitike twice turned down the opportunity to join Newcastle as a youngster back in 2022. Back then, the club were still in the early days of the PIF-project.
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They were battling relegation in January when Newcastle first made a move. While The Magpies survived the drop, they had no European football for the 2022/23 season.
Despite that, they were still able to attract top talents such as Bruno Guimaraes, Isak, Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier.
Now Newcastle are preparing for a second Champions League campaign in three seasons and are still on a high from the Carabao Cup win in March. As such, Ekitike is understood to be open to joining Newcastle this time around and testing himself in the Premier League, a U-turn from his stance three years ago.
Newcastle United will have to break the bank to sign Hugo Ekitike
Newcastle’s reported £69million bid is still some way short of Frankfurt’s reported valuation for the striker, which stands at £86million.
That fee not only smashes Newcastle’s record transfer by £23million but it would also be in the top 10 most expensive Premier League transfers ever.
For Newcastle it marks an ambitious hunt to bolster their attack following Callum Wilson’s departure. Although the club were loosely linked with free agent signings of players such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who would be viewed as a clear back-up to Isak, Newcastle are looking to sign a direct challenger for the Swedish striker, someone who could also lead the line with him if needed.
Joao Pedro was viewed as an ideal player in that respect but Chelsea were able to swoop in and strike a deal. But now Ekitike is firmly on Newcastle’s radar, while others have also been targeted.
According to Mail Online, Brentford’s Yoane Wissa and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins have also been discussed. The duo are two Premier League-proven forwards who scored 20 and 17 goals respectively last season.
Newcastle have already spent £55million on the signing of Anthony Elanga this summer and are prepared to break the bank to land another attacking talent.
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