Newcastle United fans woke up on January 31st thinking they were in for a ‘Here We Go’ for young centre-forward, Hugo Ekitike. Instead, it seems that the 19-year-old French striker will not be joining Newcastle United.
Reports earlier in the week had suggested that Newcastle United had agreed to sign Ekitike from Ligue 1 club Reims, after the two agreed upon a £33m selling price, but the player and his entourage were not convinced of moving, and he will now stay at Reims for the rest of the season.
Hugo Ekitike will NOT join Newcastle. Final communication just arrived to club directors. He prefers to stay at Reims until the end of the season. ❌ #NUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 31, 2022
Newcastle were also not happy with sell on clause for future 30% to Reims.
Why NOT Newcastle for Ekitike?
One of the reasons for Ekitike not moving to Newcastle United was Newcastle’s fight for survival in the Premier League and Ekitike would like to wait till the summer and asses his options. Should they stay up, Newcastle may come back for the French forward again in the summer, and that’s a possibility Ekitike is willing to wait for, alongside other European clubs who’s radar the player has been on.
Newcastle may have all the money in the world, but it will still take some convincing for players to jump their steady ship to one that is anything but.
Newcastle’s January Business
Eddie Howe would have liked to have Ekitike but he will still be happy with the business Newcastle have managed to do so far, and it is now up to him to keep them up.
The team from Tyneside has already acquired the services of Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon, Chris Wood from Burnley, and Keiran Trippier from Atletico Madrid.
With them missing out on Ekitike, they might just try to sign Jesse Lingard one more time, after he was given the green light by Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick to move in search for regular football. Newcastle United are also in advanced talks with Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Dan Burn for a fee close to £13m.
It already is the best transfer window in over a decade for Newcastle United, such was the ownership of Mike Ashley, and they are still in for a shot to get Dan Burn and Jesse Lingard through the doors at Darsley Park.