Newcastle want to bring young French striker Hugo Ekitike to Tyneside in what would be a club record deal
Kylian Mbappe (L) is congratulated by Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike starred alongside Kylian Mbappe at PSG
Newcastle United will land a striker who has learned at the feet of the some of the world's greatest forwards if they can turn their interest in Hugo Ekitike into a club-record transfer.
The Magpies are set to make a second bid to Eintracht Frankfurt for the French forward after taliks between the two clubs continued following an initial rejected offer.
The Bundesliga outfit are holding out for their €100m valuation for the 23-year-old striker, while United are attempting to negotiate a deal for a lower price, which the potential for add-ons.
Liverpool are also monitoring his situation, with Ekitike now hot property after he got his career back on track in Germany. Newcastle had previously tried to sign him when he was with Reims, but he opted to move to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in 2022.
The switch to the French capital saw his star alongside footballing legends such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar - although as a result he did not get the gametime he wanted at PSG.
That led to a loan move to Frankfurt, whch he made permanent in 2024, with the France U21 striker going on to score 26 goals in 64 appearances in Germany.
His spell at PSG may have been frustrating, but looking back now, he recognises it as a valuable learning experience, surrounded by some the game's greats.
"That's the thing," he told TNT Sport. "At the time, I didn't see things like that because I wanted to play.
"But it's only now, after spending a lot of time at home reflecting on what happened, that I've realised that I've been lucky enough to be in a place where no one else has been.
"I'm always on a quest to learn. I have a thirst for learning. I realised that at the end of the day, I'd maybe spent a year, a year and a half watching the best players in the world go through their paces in training and even in matches. Sometimes up close, sometimes a little further away."
Lionel Messi of PSG celebrates his second goal between Neymar Jr and Hugo Ekitike
Lionel Messi celebrates with Neymar Jr and Hugo Ekitike
In a separate interview, Ekitike revealed Mbappe had offered him plenty of advice during their time in Paris, with the France star leaving for Real Madrid last summer.
“Thanks to my contact with Kylian Mbappe, I became a better person and a better footballer because I was able to learn a lot of things,” Ekitike told Paris Fans. “He gave me lots of advice to help me improve and recommended I take the next step now.
"It all depends on how you take things. For some, it can be complicated. I take it in a pretty good way, that's what pushes me to be better every day. It didn't work out in Paris, it's part of a career, choices, certain things that happen.
"My time in Paris, for me, was a lesson, an apprenticeship alongside great players. Coming here (Frankfurt) was the right choice. The most important thing is to be able to express myself and show everything I learned in Paris for a year and a half."