Word stemming from the European media on Thursday evening points towards a potential spanner being thrown in the works of Newcastle United’s swoop for Stade de Reims star Hugo Ekitike.
The name of French prodigy Ekitike will of course be well known to those of a Magpies persuasion.
This comes with the 19-year-old, after coming close to making the move to Tyneside during the January transfer window, having been widely tipped as being on the verge of linking up with Eddie Howe’s squad once more over the course of the last couple of weeks.
In fact, several sources went as far as to suggest that a deal was as good as done, owing to an agreement being struck between the respective transfer teams at Newcastle and Reims.
Hugo Ekitike deal. Newcastle and Reims have full agreement on €30m fee plus €5m add-ons, agent is now in talks with Newcastle after being given permission by Reims. ⭐️?? #NUFC
Work in progress as Newcastle have been leading the race for weeks.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 4, 2022
An official announcement regarding the move, in turn, was labelled as imminent across the continent this past weekend.
As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the media on Thursday is anything to go by, then, in fact, Ekitike may not be as close to St. James’ Park as was previously thought.
The latest info comes by way of transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who points towards an injury picked up by the young attacker during an outing for France’s U20s as having ‘delayed’ the operation.
This comes after Ekitike’s agent pushed back a meeting with Newcastle’s transfer chiefs earlier this week, despite a transfer agreement being struck for his client.
Romano, in turn, suggests that those in a position of power at St. James’ Park could be ready to ‘consider other options’.
New hamstring injury for Hugo Ekitike today during France game. His agent was expected in Newcastle on Monday after agreement reached with Reims, but he delayed. ⚪️ #NUFC
The deal could be even more delayed now after injury – Newcastle will also consider other options.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 9, 2022
Diaby staying put
Elsewhere on the Newcastle front, the Geordie outfit were today too dealt a fatal blow in their ongoing pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen star Moussa Diaby.
This came after Bayer sporting director Simon Rolfes confirmed during an interview with Ryan Taylor of The Express that:
“We want to keep Moussa for as long as possible. We have no offers & aren’t looking for them at the moment.”
Excl: Sat down with Bayer Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes, who told me #NUFC target Moussa Diaby is not for sale.
“We want to keep Moussa for as long as possible. We have no offers & aren’t looking for them at the moment.”
Big interview to follow… https://t.co/GJuY5ZJ5sh
— Ryan Taylor (@RyanTaylorSport) June 9, 2022
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