Over the course of the summer, Newcastle United had a chance to sign Hugo Ekitike from Stade de Reims.
However, Paris Saint-Germain then came along and convinced the youngster to stay in France instead, moving to the capital on loan with an almost obligatory option to buy.
Instead, Newcastle went and signed Alexander Isak for €70m or so, while the French striker sits on the bench at the Parc des Princes, wondering what could have been.
There have been reports that he hasn’t quite hit all the demands from the Ligue 1 giants, making just nine appearances in all competitions for a grand total of 160 minutes.
His manager, Christophe Galtier, addressed the situation on Friday in a press conference, relayed by L’Equipe.
He said: “When you have the attacking trio we have at Paris Saint-Germain, there’s a need for a lot of investment, resilience, to never let go. When you play instead of the three, there’s obviously a comparison. He’s sometimes been disappointed, rightly so, to not start certain games.
“He was disappointed, I gave him my reasons. Of course, he’s a talented player, who must also compensate for his lack of game time in training. We’ve decided as well that he must work more, put more intensity to have more impact when he comes on.”
Down their end, Newcastle are currently fourth in the Premier League, flying high, showing Ekitike exactly what he’s missing out on.
Prior to his move to Paris Saint-Germain, the 20-year-old has scored 11 goals and assisted another four in 28 appearances for Stade de Reims.
