West Ham United are fighting Crystal Palace for a deadline day transfer of Paris Saint-Germain star Hugo Ekitike. So, here is everything you need to know about the striker.
The 21-year-old is the subject of substantial interest from Premier League sides ahead of the summer sales slamming shut. Ekitike has also now rejected a switch to Eintracht Frankfurt as Paris Saint-Germain strive to wrap up Randal Kolo Muani’s arrival from the Bundesliga outfit.
That is according to Get French Football News, which claims that Ekitike has rejected a third bid from Die Adler. The Deutsche Bank Park club have tabled various contracts to the striker in their efforts to replace Kolo Muani. But Ekitike only wants to move to the Premier League.
Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham are all interested in offering Ekitike his deadline day transfer to the Premier League. The Sun reports that the three London rivals are competing to take advantage of Luis Enrique informing the forward that he is not in his plans with PSG.
Selhurst Park chiefs are moving firmly to secure his signature, too. Le Parisien reporter Marc Mechenoua adds that Crystal Palace have made Paris Saint-Germain an offer for Ekitike. The Eagles have offered an initial loan deal which carries a €30m (£25.5m) option to buy in 2024.
Paris Saint-Germain paid Stade de Reims €28.5m (£24.5m) for Ekitike in July after signing him on loan last July. Their move for the forward features a further €6.5m (£5.5m) in add-ons. While the Reims native also agreed a contract at the Parc des Princes to June 2027.
Yet West Ham are fighting Crystal Palace for Ekitike’s transfer on deadline day with his future at Paris Saint-Germain drab. So, here is everything you need to know about their late target.
Who is Hugo Ekitike and how good is he?
Hugo Ekitike is a player for Paris Saint-Germain and is also a deadline day transfer target for Crystal Palace and West Ham United. He has been at the Parc des Princes for just 14 months but already faces a bleak future. Luis Enrique wants to replace him with Randal Kolo Muani.
PSG sought Ekitike’s services last summer after impressing at Ligue 1 rivals Stade de Reims. The forward is a product of Reims’ academy after joining Les Rouges et Blancs’ youth side in 2013. He made his senior debut in October 2020 aged 18 years, three months and 27 days.
Oscar Garcia praised Ekitike for having ‘something very special’ about him while his manager at Reims. But the striker had to bide his time to cement a role at Stade Auguste Delaune. Yet he earned a switch to PSG after scoring 11 and assisting four goals in only 28 appearances.
Ekitike finally broke through at Reims in 2021/22 after a loan spell in Denmark with Vejle BK. Yet Enrique is already ready to say goodbye at PSG to entice interest from Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham. Ekitike also struggled to establish a prominent role for PSG last term.
Where and when was Hugo Ekitike born?
Hugo Ekitike was born in Reims, a city in north-eastern France, on June 20 in 2002. He has since represented France at Under-20 and 21 levels but is yet to play a senior international.
What position does Hugo Ekitike play?
Managers have traditionally kept Hugo Ekitike to playing the position of striker throughout his career so far. But the attacker can also feature as a winger, who prefers cutting in from the left-hand side onto his favoured right-foot. Although he has played out wide sparingly.
Hugo Ekitike’s stats at Paris Saint-Germain
Luis Enrique has told Hugo Ekitike that he has no future at Paris Saint-Germain as the striker has started in 14 of his appearances and failed to match his goal record at Stade de Reims.
First-team, Paris Saint-Germain: 33 appearances, 4 goals, 4 assists