Newcastle in talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over club-record Ekitike deal
Newcastle United are seemingly closing in on a sensational move for Eintracht Frankfurt talisman Hugo Ekitike.
Newcastle United are pushing to secure a club-record deal for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, according to multiple reports.
The Magpies are looking to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the 2025-26 season, in which they will be competing on four fronts after securing a return to the Champions League with a fifth-placed Premier League finish last season.
Newcastle missed out on a deal for Brighton forward Joao Pedro, who elected to sign for Chelsea, but secured the signature of long-term target Anthony Elanga last week, the winger joining in a £55million move from Nottingham Forest.
Ekitike is another player Newcastle have had their eyes on for a while. Newcastle attempted to sign him from Reims in January 2022 before he eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain instead.
Newcastle instead signed Alexander Isak in a £63million move that broke their transfer record, with the Sweden star becoming one of the most prized assets in world football as he has scored 62 goals in 109 games for the Magpies, including what proved to be the winning goal in their 2-1 EFL Cup victory over Liverpool in March.
Liverpool are among the clubs to have been credited with an interest in Isak, but reports claim a move for Ekitike is one Newcastle are looking to make with a view to him playing alongside their talisman.
A deal in the region of €75m to €80m is not believed to be close, though ESPN’s Julian Laurens reported that Ekitike’s agent Ali Barat had travelled to Tyneside in a push to finalise the transfer.
Should Newcastle reach agreement with Ekitike and with Eintracht, then they will add an attacker who scored 22 goals in all competitions last season as they finished third in the Bundesliga.
Newcastle parted company with Callum Wilson this month following the expiry of his contract, leaving William Osula as the primary striking option behind Isak. If Ekitike does make a belated move to the North East, then Newcastle will be in a substantially better position to challenge domestically and in Europe.