In case you missed it on Monday afternoon, Newcastle United are now reportedly interested in Stade de Reims’ Hugo Ékitiké.
The young striker was announced to be the subject of a €30m+ first move from the Magpies, with multiple journalists jumping on the bandwagon, but Foot Mercato in France are now trying to step in to clarify the situation.
Via their journalist Santi Aouna, the website explains that while St James’ Park side have indeed made an ‘informal offer’, it’s ‘quite far from the €36m’ that have been announced elsewhere.
This comes from ‘sources close to the Newcastle board’, but it’s made clear ‘discussions are underway’ for the 19-year-old.
🚨Info : De sources proches du board de #Newcastle, la première "offre informelle" des Magpies pour Hugo Ekitiké 🇫🇷 est bien loin des 36M€ annoncés.
• Discussions en cours. • Intérêt de #Leicester qui a validé le profil, mais qui n'a pas encore entamé de démarches concrètes. pic.twitter.com/6wzPYTeqcC
— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) January 11, 2022
There is a desperate need on Tyneside to get a new striker in after the injury to Callum Wilson, but it remains to be seen if a young, albeit very tall, forward who has just 20 game for Reims under his belt (with eight goals and three assists) is the answer to Eddie Howe’s problems.
Perhaps the idea would be to bring him and another experienced striker in? We’ll have to wait and see.
