Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Newcastle United’s persistent interest in Hugo Ekitike may have finally paid off and the deal is almost done.
Newcastle have shown interest the in Reims forward and the club have reportedly been given the green light to speak to him as the deal is edging closer to being completed when the transfer window opens.
Ekitike picked up an injury in February that saw him miss three months of football, but he still had an impressive season in Ligue 1, featuring 24 times – 15 of which were starts – and netting 10 times whilst contributing with three assists along the way.
With reports stating that the Magpies have been permitted to speak with Ekitike, Jones claimed to GiveMeSport that the deal is close to the finishing line.
He said: “I think we’re finally there with this one. It’s sounding like it’ll be about £31m, and Newcastle are excited to be close to the finishing line on this deal.
“So once it’s signed off, there’ll be a lot of relieved people, including everybody that’s talked about it for six months.”
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TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Newcastle had an impressive second half of the season, as before the turn of the year, they sat in the bottom three, but after some fine investment in January, they ended up finishing 11th, 14 points above the drop zone.
However, they did struggle in front of goal as their top scorer was Callum Wilson with eight goals, despite missing the majority of the second half of the season, so Howe will be hoping that Ekitike can help bolster the attack and add goals to his side.
Ekitike is just 19 years old, so Howe might be hoping that he can be part of the long-term future of the club, which is looking like an exciting and successful one if the second half of the season is anything to go by.