Newcastle United inflicted a real gut-punch on Liverpool back in March when beating the Reds in the Carabao Cup final.
Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak gave Arne Slot the first major setback of his Liverpool career, as the Magpies lifted their first major trophy since 1955.
However, Liverpool have now done something which could make Newcastle United feel a bit ill as talks begin over a deal to sign Hugo Ekitike.
Why discussions between Liverpool and Hugo Ekitike may irk Newcastle
Florian Plettenburg of Sky Germany claims that Liverpool have started talks to sign Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, after the Frenchman scored 22 goals and assisted a further 12 in 48 appearances this season.
The reason we feel this will frustrate Newcastle is the fact they were incredibly close to signing the 22-year-old from Reims back in June 2022.
Newcastle had even agreed a £25.6m fee to sign the France U21 international, but a swoop from PSG changed everything.
Ekitike even said he would have joined Newcastle if the Parisians didn’t get involved, telling le10sport: “I’m not setting aside everything Newcastle did for me to come. If I had to go abroad, I would have gone there, but, when PSG wants you and you’re French, you can’t refuse.”
When Ekitiké is running at you… 🥵
🦅 Frankfurt's quick counterattack is crowned #UELGOTD 🥇#UEL | @FlixBus_DE pic.twitter.com/1JFzB3dKlJ
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 11, 2025
The Reims-born striker is now hitting new heights. After his electric 2024/25 campaign, Eintracht Frankfurt value him at €100m (£85m) – a fee which has not put Liverpool off with talks ongoing.
Should Ekitike actually seal a move to Anfield and continue to bag goals right next door to Newcastle in the Premier League, we’re sure Howe will never forget about just how close he came to signing the striker.
Eddie Howe found a solution in Alexander Isak, but is still chasing his initial Hugo Ekitike alternative
Newcastle eventually found a superb striker in August 2022, spending £63m to sign Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, who has since scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies.
However, before that offer, Howe actually turned to Joao Pedro first, but saw a £23m bid rejected by Watford earlier in August 2022.
.@DeJesusOfiicial made it THREE! 🤯💥 pic.twitter.com/qRsYd56dKS
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 16, 2023
Interestingly, Newcastle still want Pedro, with iNews claiming that Howe is even willing to change his tactics to adopt a two-man striker system to sign either the Brazilian or Liam Delap this summer, with a new striker firmly on the agenda.
Ekitike, however, no longer appears obtainable for Newcastle, and may never be a realistic target again if he continues on his current trajectory.