Newcastle United: Graves believes Ekitike deal could still happen

Sky Sports journalist Pete Graves still believes that Newcastle United can get a deal done for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike this summer despite a stall in the transfer negotiations. 

While the Magpies have become a largely attractive club to many top talents around the world including Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and recently Sven Botman. However, one player that has proven to be a challenge to lock down for the club is Ekitike from Reims.

It has been reported that Newcastle is ready to walk away from the deal, but Graves believes that the deal is over 90% done but some factors are getting in the way of the deal. However, he believes they can still get the deal done for the youngster.

However, the Reims boss has stated that Ekitike wants to stay, so it remains to be seen as to what will happen.

He said on the LOADED MAG NUFC YouTube channel, “You’re looking at the Ekitike deal, I still think there’s a strong possibility he signs because the deals agreed with the clubs, the personal terms are agreed, the holdup is the final, final bit.

“Now when you’ve got a deal 90%+ done and it’s been held up by the final bonuses, agent’s fees and the structure. I just would be amazed if they couldn’t sort that out… conversations I had today weren’t massively positive but my gut feeling, as I’ve said a few weeks ago is both of those [Botman and Ekitike] will sign.” (14:59)

TIF Thoughts on Ekitike to Newcastle…

The ‘amazing’ 20-year-old impressed last season for Reims in Ligue 1, making 26 appearances across all competitions and bagging 11 goals and four assists in that time. While he has not got a lot of experience, he certainly looks to be a player that has bags of potential.

While he has shown he can get goals, he showed he is more versatile in creating and his defensive actions. According to Fbref, Ekitike ranked in the 97th percentile in dribbles completed and 84th for progressive carries, as well as 99th for interceptions, 86th for tackles, and 77th for pressures per game compared to other strikers in the top five leagues.

Newcastle already have a strong forward force in Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin, but adding a player with the potential of Ekitike will help them with depth in the short-term, and potentially a starting calibre striker in the long-term.