Newcastle United are now trying to sign Hugo Ekitike who has release clause – Report | OneFootball

Newcastle United are now looking to sign Hugo Ekitike.

With Anthony Elanga finally announced on Friday, The Telegraph report that Eddie Howe and United have put their focus now on adding the Eintracht Frankfurt forward to the former Forest winger.

However, most importantly, The Telegraph say that the intention is to ADD Hugo Ekitike to Alexander Isak, not replace him.

The striker has been a longstanding target for Eddie Howe. Indeed, Howe and Newcastle United only lost out on the then 19 year old back in summer 2022 after a transfer fee of around £25m had been agreed with Reims, because Hugo Ekitike was desperate to hang on for PSG, as he had his heart set on joining the French club. PSG were going through a lot of changes at the time and after Reims agreed the deal with Newcastle, Ekitike turned 20 during the long wait, that ended in failure as PSG eventually swooped.

That summer 2022 transfer window also saw Newcastle United then later on set up a deal to buy Joao Pedro from Watford for £30m, only to instead buy Alexander Isak for £63m from Real Sociedad.

A classic case of what might have been sliding doors moments, what would have then followed if Hugo Ekitike had joined Newcastle back then, or Joao Pedro, instead of Alexander Isak…?

When Hugo Ekitike joined PSG, those were the days of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar as the undisputed front three and the 20 year old new signing was given very few opportunities.

However, after an initial short loan, Eintracht Frankfurt paid the then £15m agreed permanent figure at the end of the loan, having scored four Bundesliga goals and making two assists from only seven starts (and seven sub appearances).

Last season (2024/25), Hugo Ekitike became one of Europe’s hottest properties, getting 23 direct goal involvements (scoring 15 and getting eight assists) from only 31 Ligue 1 starts. Whilst in all competitions last season, Ekitike scored 22 goals and got 12 assists, helping Eintracht Frankfurt qualify for the Champions League.

The Telegraph say that Newcastle United are now looking to get a deal done to sign Hugo Ekitike, so that he can play alongside Alexander Isak and play as the lone striker in matches where Isak may be rested or unavailable.

The report says that their information is that Newcastle United have made contact with the player’s representatives to make Hugo Ekitike aware of their interest and now hope to agree a transfer fee with Eintracht Frankfurt.

It won’t come cheap though with Newcastle United potentially (probably?) having to pay the full £86m (€100m) release clause figure that Hugo Ekitike has in his contract.

The Telegraph are adamant that Newcastle United have no intention whatsoever of selling Alexander Isak this summer, instead, the plan remains to try and get Isak to agree a new contract that will go beyond the current three years that are left on his current deal at NUFC.

Personally, I think this would be a brilliant transfer if Newcastle United can pull it off.

Could Newcastle pay £86m for a striker this summer?

Well three years ago United paid £63m for a then 22 year old Alexander Isak, so it wouldn’t shock me if they did pay £86m for Hugo Ekitike who turned 23 last month. You also can’t ignore the fact that if Hugo Ekitike was signed now, it then also means that if in the FUTURE Alexander Isak did leave for whatever reason, then you already have his replacement in the team/squad.

If paying such a figure for another attacking player, it could then impact on what would be possible to spend on other positions, such as goalkeeper and right-sided central defender in particular. However, my feeling always was that this could well be a £200m transfer window spend for Newcastle United, with Champions League money coming in next season and of course the belt tightening of the last three windows due mainly to PSR concerns.

The likes of Sean Longstaff could well be sold, plus potentially others, to help fund new signings.

If Eddie Howe is determined to get Hugo Ekitike and if a deal is possible, then maybe if adding Ekitike to Elanga as two new attacking options, you could potentially even see say Harvey Barnes sold to help fund a Hugo Ekitike deal.

What I think we can also appreciate, is just how good Newcastle United have been, in terms of identifying potential signings. Eddie Howe with an astonishing success record when it comes to how well all of his big money signings have done, whilst young players who United missed out on after trying to buy, such as Ekitike and Pedro, have also shown their quality as they have progressed elsewhere.