An agent involved in Newcastle United’s collapsed deal with Eintracht Frankfurt for striker Hugo Ekitike has disclosed how the deal broke down.
While Eddie Howe will be pleased with the signings his side made throughout the summer, he was dealt several major blows.
The start of Newcastle United’s transfer window was far from ideal. After the promise of a transformative summer, the Magpies were unable to get any deals over the line for senior players in June.
Player rejections became a common theme throughout the summer, with Joao Pedro, Benjamin Sesko and James Trafford opting for moves to other Premier League clubs, despite serious interest from Newcastle.
Another player to move elsewhere was Hugo Ekitike. Newcastle held a longstanding interest in Ekitike and nearly signed him in 2022 before he joined PSG. With Ekitike now at Liverpool, an agent involved in the deal has shared how Newcastle missed out on the striker.
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Newcastle United came very close to reaching a deal for Hugo Ekitike before Liverpool move
Howe admitted he was a big fan of Ekitike, but did not elaborate on how close a deal was to being completed for the now-Liverpool man.
Newcastle’s interest in Ekitke was first reported in July, with talks taking place between the two clubs over what would have been a club record deal. The hope was that Ekitike would play alongside Alexander Isak for a season, with a view to letting the latter leave the season after.
In the end, Liverpool won the negotiation race, managing to buy Ekitike and Isak during the summer window.
It appears Newcastle were very close to getting the Frenchman on Tyneside before Liverpool stole a march and got the deal done. That is according to agent Ali Barat, who spoke to TuttoSport about the deal.
“I was working on behalf of Eintracht Frankfurt to bring him to Newcastle,” he said.
“I stayed in Germany for ten days. We agreed everything with the German club and the player, then Liverpool called him and he chose Anfield.”
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Hugo Ekitike came back to haunt Newcastle United
Newcastle managed to sign two strikers before the transfer deadline, with Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, who joined to improve Howe’s options up top.
It remains to be seen which striker will start for Newcastle against Wolves on Saturday afternoon, with Wissa lacking match sharpness and Woltemade not used to playing in the Premier League.
While Newcastle have their two new strikers, they have also felt the impact of missing out on Ekitike. The 23-year-old scored against the Magpies when Liverpool came to St James’ Park in August.
Despite an impressive comeback while down to 10 men, Liverpool were able to secure the win late on and deny Newcastle a valuable point against the defending Premier League champions.
Ekitike looks like he will be a success at Liverpool, leaving Newcastle fans wondering what could have been if they had acted quicker.
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