Newcastle transfer news: Hugo Ekitike wants to stay at Reims

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It looks like Hugo Ekitike definitely isn’t going to join Newcastle United this summer.

The forward has been heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park, having turned down a move in January.

But the chance of a summer deal looked much more probable, with a £26million fee agreed with Reims.

All that was left to do was agree personal terms and agent fees. However, that was easier said than done.

Talks rumbled on and on, with supporters growing more and more frustrated. Then came news from 90min that Newcastle had walked away the deal.

While other outlets haven’t been quite as definitive, the Magpies are looking elsewhere for attacking reinforcements.

As for Ekitike, he has now stated his desire to remain with Reims.

Oscar Garcia shares what Hugo Ekitike told him

Reims manager Oscar Garcia has spoke to the French press, and was asked about Ekitike’s future.

“He [Ekitike] told me he wanted to stay,” Garcia told RMC Sport.

“But if there’s Real Madrid and Barcelona who come knocking… I find Hugo calm. I spoke with him. He will have no problem staying at the club, and neither will I.”

That should settle it then. Ekitike does not sound like a man who wants to join Newcastle. If he did then a deal would surely be done by now.

Is a mega club going to swoop in and sign him? Probably not. There was talk of interest from PSG, but they were merely being used to drive the price up.

For all the talk of so many clubs chasing him this summer, Newcastle appeared to be the only team that were actually close to completing a deal.

Newcastle will look elsewhere

And if he doesn’t want to move to St James’ Park then that’s fair enough. If he can’t see how special this club is or be enticed by the direction we’re going in then we will have to look elsewhere.

It isn’t the end of the world for Newcastle. There are other options out there. Armando Broja from Chelsea is now being linked with joining Eddie Howe’s side.

Ekitike certainly ticked a lot of boxes for the Magpies. He can play through the middle and out wide, and at 20-years-old he has a long future ahead of him. And he proved last season with Reims how good he can be in front of goal.

But Newcastle can find a better option elsewhere. They will find someone who wants to play for the Magpies, and the Ekitike transfer saga of 2022 will merely be resigned to the history books.