Newcastle United tried and failed to sign Hugo Ekitike and Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window.
The attacking duo were big targets for the Magpies, but Amanda Staveley was unable to bring either to St James’ Park.
The move for Reims’ Ekitike looked like a goer at one point, with a deadline day deal looking likely. However, he decided against joining Newcastle and opted not to board a flight heading to England.
Newcastle then turned their attentions back to Lingard in the final hours of the window, having already been knocked back in their pursuit of the 29-year-old.
Eddie Howe’s side were once again rebuffed in their attempts to sign Lingard, despite the fact he wanted the move and was out of favour at Manchester United.
Both Ekitike and Lingard remained at their respective clubs, but finally look likely to be on the move this summer. Lingard certainly will be, with his contract at Old Trafford set to expire. As for Ekitike, Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot has confirmed the 19-year-old will be allowed to leave.
But will they finally head to St James’ Park?
Ekitike ‘close’ to Newcastle transfer, Howe to ‘push’ for Lingard
According to 90min, the Magpies will make fresh moves to land Ekitike and Lingard this summer.
In fact, they claim that a £30million deal to sign the French teenager is ‘close’. That’s despite interest from a plethora of clubs all over Europe.
90min also state that Howe is very keen to sign Lingard this summer on a free. The report adds that Newcastle have made him an offer, and that it is ‘significantly’ better than the one from West Ham, who are also keen.
It’s interesting to see Newcastle go back in for players who they failed to sign in January.
Had it not been for Man United’s greed, Lingard would be a Toon player right now. Given the fact he’s set to be available on a free, it makes sense to make a fresh move as Newcastle look to navigate the tricky waters of FFP.
The Ekitike move may raise some eyebrows after he turned down Newcastle at the start of the year. But given his age and Newcastle’s position, you can see why he was reluctant to join then.
Things have changed, and the youngster may now see this as a chance to get a move to an exciting Premier League club who have ambitions of eventually challenging at the top.
The Newcastle rebuild continues this summer, and Ekitike and Lingard could well be a part of it.
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