Not just Alexander Isak - Liverpool inflicted another blow after Newcastle United 'agreed everything'
Newcastle United have tried to sign Hugo Ekitike on three occasions.
Newcastle United “agreed everything” to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt before the deal was hijacked by Liverpool.
That’s according to super agent Ali Barat, who was acting on behalf of the German club to broker Ekitike’s transfer to Tyneside.
Newcastle first tried to sign Ekitike in January 2022 following his breakthrough at Stade de Reims, but the player opted against making the mid-season move.
The Magpies had just been taken over by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and were in the midst of a Premier League relegation battle, which ended in survival.
Eddie Howe’s side then returned for Ekitike the following summer but again the player stalled and ultimately held out for a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ekitike spent one full season in Paris before falling out of favour under head coach Luis Enrique. He was linked with a move to the likes of West Ham United and Crystal Palace, but it was the Bundesliga where Ekitike would go and get his career back on track.
He initially joined Frankfurt on loan in January 2024 but the move turned permanent in the summer for around £14million. And it took just 12 months for the German side to make a sizeable profit after he moved to Liverpool for an initial £69m plus £10m in add-ons.
In his only full season in Germany, Ekitike scored 22 goals.
Newcastle United ‘agree everything’ to sign Hugo Ekitike
At the third time of trying, Newcastle finally looked set to secure Ekitike’s signature. That was until Liverpool got wind of negotiations.
Barat told TuttoSport: “Hugo Ekitike. I was working on behalf of Eintracht Frankfurt to bring him to Newcastle. I stayed in Germany for 10 days. We agreed everything with the German club and the player, then Liverpool called him and he chose Anfield.”
For all of the talk of Newcastle having both Ekitike and Alexander Isak on their books, Howe’s side ended up with neither after Isak went on strike to force through a British record £130m move to Anfield.
Howe instead has a new strike force, with Nick Woltemade joining from Stuttgart for club-record £69m and Yoane Wissa arriving from Brentford for £55m in the final few days of the transfer window.
Up until that point, it had been a frustrating window for United following knockbacks from the likes Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko.
Eddie Howe confirmed Hugo Ekitike interest
Prior to the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool at St James’ Park last month, Howe confirmed his interest in Ekitike.
He said: “I think there's no doubting that I really like Hugo and have done for a number of years. He's someone that we've tracked for a long time. He's got really good qualities and I think he showed that in his first Premier League game. A very good debut against Bournemouth.
“He's got really good movement. He's intelligent. He's good in the air. He scores goals. Very good finisher. Scores off both feet. So, I think he's got a load of qualities that will serve him really well in the Premier League.”