Update On Newcastle United’s Pursuit Of This French Forward: Good Option For Howe?

In a recent report, The Telegraph (subscription required) offered an update on Newcastle United and their pursuit of Stade Reims forward Hugo Ekitike. It is believed that the French attacker will assess his options in the summer after the Magpies’ failed attempt to land him back in January.

Ekitike’s Impressive Form In French Football

Ekitike is having a decent season in France as he has managed to put in some match-winning displays as the focal point of Reims’ attack. The 19-year-old has banged in ten goals and created four assists in 24 matches for the French outfit during this campaign in multiple competitions.

The Reims-born talent has done well to average 1.3 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.9 dribbles per game in Ligue 1. However, he needs to be more careful when linking up play with others around him after making 69.8% of his attempted passes in the French top tier (stats via whoscored).

Is Ekitike A Good Option For Newcastle United?

Ekitike can create a yard of space for himself to get a few shot attempts in on-target and can chip in by picking up the odd assist from time to time. The Reims-born talent can even make a few intelligent runs in behind the opponent’s backline.

Ekitike is primarily a centre-forward but can fill in as a left-sided wide player if needed. Furthermore, he can use his strong 1.90m to hold possession up and get his teammates involved in the final third.

Ekitike will no doubt enhance the quality of Eddie Howe‘s first-team and would serve as an upgrade over Chris Wood and Dwight Gayle at St. James’ Park in the coming seasons.

Therefore, Newcastle would be wise to engineer a move to lure Ekitike to the Tyneside club once again in the summer. At 19, the future is looking quite bright for the French teenager as long as he continues to improve with each year.

A striker of Ekitike’s potential will undeniably be an excellent option for the Magpies to consider during the summer transfer period.