Newcastle United and Man Utd miss out on £69m goal-machine as PSG move could reignite Hugo Ekitike saga

Newcastle United will miss out on the chance to sign Goncalo Ramos from Benfica with the talisman on the verge of completing a move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Eddie Howe's interest in Ramos had cooled over the summer transfer window, with a move much more likely to have happened last summer before the Magpies splashed the cash on Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for £63 million.

When first looking at Ramos, the star was valued at £30 million but PSG are believed to have reached an agreement of over twice that at £69 million for the Portuguese star.

The 22-year-old scored 27 goals over the past season as well as picking up 12 assists, and added a World Cup hat-trick to book as his price skyrocketed.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has claimed that PSG could complete the deal by the end of this week for the £69 million fee, which is still less than Ramos' big £105 million release clause. The striker had also been linked with moves to Manchester United and Real Madrid this summer.

An intriguing twist for Newcastle United fans is that Ramos' move to the Parc de Princes is likely to leave Hugo Ekitike surplus to requirements having made the majority of his appearances from the bench last term.

Ekitike famously turned down a move to St James' Park and went on to move to PSG.

The striker had been asked if he regretted that decision during a press conference and replied: “No, I know why I came here.

“Of course, when you arrive at a club like this, there are a lot of expectations. People are waiting for performances and inevitably, if they don’t come, people will naturally ask questions.

“Me, I play in a position where I will always be questioned, especially because I came with a big transfer fee. This (expectation due to the transfer fee) I have to accept it and I do. It’s not a concern.

“If I play badly I’ll be the first to say it. If I play well, I’ll be there too and I’ll continue to be good.”