Newcastle United have ‘grand plans’ for another signing even if they land Hugo Ekitike

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Newcastle United are trying to sign Hugo Ekitike this summer but their ambitious plans in the transfer market may not stop there. 

Indeed, Newcastle United are expected to make another bid for Ekitike, having already seen a club-record offer rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt. 

Liverpool are also interested in Ekitike, while the Anfield giants have reportedly made an approach to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle. 

Still, Newcastle do not want to sell Isak and there is no suggestion they will do so this summer at least.  

Newcastle are willing to pay more than £70million for Ekitike, but there are still plans to strengthen Eddie Howe’s squad even further. 

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Newcastle United have big plans to sign new defender  

According to The Chronicle, Newcastle still have “grand plans” to sign a new defender this summer. 

Newcastle tried and failed to sign Marc Guehi in 2024, but Geordie Boot Boys have been told that they remain interested in the Crystal Palace defender. 

While Howe has defensive options in the Newcastle United squad, none of them are overly convincing in the long-term. 

Fabian Schar and Dan Burn are both into their mid-thirties now, while Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are coming off the back of long-term injury problems.

How much money Newcastle United could actually spend this summer

If Newcastle pay more than £70million for Ekitike, their spending will hit almost £150million following the £55million addition of Anthony Elanga earlier this month.

Previously, it’s been claimed that Newcastle’s transfer budget is around £150million. 

Still, Newcastle are set to bank £15million by selling Sean Longstaff to Leeds, and all of the initial fee will go down as ‘pure profit’ on the club’s balance sheet. 

That will help in a world dominated by the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which do not allow clubs to lose more than £105million over a three-year accounting period. 

Newcastle are in a strong PSR position, and could have headroom to spend more than their budget this summer to spread the cost over a few accounting years. 

Back in June, football finance expert Adam Williams told Geordie Boot Boys that Newcastle could freely spend up to £200million this summer. 

“Newcastle could spend £200-300m freely this summer and not worry about PSR in the current assessment window,” he said.