There is new – albeit still feint – Hugo Ekitike hope for West Ham as reporter claims expected Newcastle move is put on ice.
West Ham and Newcastle have been reportedly battling it out to sign Stade Reims striker Ekitike this month.
French outlets Le10Sport and Get French Football News as well as Sky Sports revealed last week that West Ham had submitted another bid to Reims for the rapid 19-year-old.
The forward has been dubbed the new Kylian Mbappe and also likened to Thierry Henry.
He has caught the eye of both West Ham boss David Moyes and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe with his goalscoring exploits during his debut campaign.
Ekitike struck his ninth goal in 19 games in a French Cup defeat at the weekend.
That reinforced Ekitike’s position as the top scoring teenager across Europe this season.
West Ham fans were frustrated when it emerged today that Newcastle had agreed a fee of around £25m with Reims for Ekitike (The Mirror).
The move was then expected to be a mere formality.
New Hugo Ekitike hope for West Ham as reporter claims Newcastle move is put on ice
But there is new Ekitike hope for West Ham as Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie – speaking from the Magpies’s training ground – claims the Newcastle move is on ice.
“I have to say although the fee as we understand it has been agreed – £25m rising to 33m, time really looks like it might be against Newcastle on this one,” Downie said on Sky Sports Deadline Day this afternoon.
“They’re obviously very keen to bring the young French striker in, it’s someone they’ve been looking at the whole window. They had a £29m – total – bid knocked back just a couple of weeks ago.
“But it’s our understanding that the player is going to take a little bit of persuading to make the move to come here and as you know the clock is ticking down and time is running out.
“He would have to make that decision, that he wants to come here to Newcastle and take on the project, travel over here, undergo his medical and sign the deal before the deadline this evening. So I would suggest that time is running out a little bit for Newcastle…
“It may just fall down due to what the player wants to do… I have to say that one is on ice at the moment.”
Whether West Ham now go all in for Ekitike remains to be seen.
A move for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez has thus far not been successful.
And with David Moyes is facing the very real prospect of no new arrivals this month, West Ham may need to pounce now with Newcastle’s Ekitike move having stalled.
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