Pursuing Hugo Ekitike for much of the summer, Newcastle United were in a battle with Paris Saint-Germain for the young striker’s services.
The Stade de Reims starlet eventually decided to head to the Ligue 1 champions, initially on loan, where he has yet to really feature, coming on five times as a substitute for a total of 67 minutes to date.
That isn’t what the player, who was playing regularly at huis former club, will have wanted, and there’s already been a few articles suggested he might have been better off heading to Newcastle.
Regardless of that, any Paris Saint-Germain fan, despite him not playing, will have wanted to hear that Ekitike was working his backside off to get into the team, as difficult as that is, but that isn’t the case.
According to a former player of the Ligue 1 side (between 1997-2001), Eric Rabesandratana, who was speaking to France Bleu Paris, relayed by Jeunes Footeux, the Newcastle summer target’s behaviour leaves a lot to be desired.
He said: “I’m not convinced by Hugo Ekitike because he has shown mental weaknesses. He’s young, but I find that, behaviour wise, he doesn’t correspond at all to what you expect from him as a young person, and especially as a player who should impose him at PSG over the years.
“We need players who are focused on football, and I’m not sure that moaning every two seconds, half-bothering to do the exercises, because it bores him and he’d rather play games, is enough. No, you have to show a perfect state of mind to be considered by the manager. For the moment, I find that he is not yet professional. He’s more of a kid than a professional. He must grow.”
Whether he would have started regularly at Newcastle United had he signed at St James’ Park over the summer, we’ll never know, but it appears the Magpies are better off without him, at least for now, and will be far more pleased with the decision to sign Alexander Isak towards the end of the transfer window.
