Agent now shares how close Newcastle United came to signing Hugo Ekitike before striker moved to Liverpool
Newcastle United tried once again to sign France striker Hugo Ekitike this summer after failing to land the striker in 2022.
Hugo Ekitike was Eddie Howe's first choice when he looked to bring in an exciting forward in his first summer window, but Ekitike chose to sign for Paris Saint-Germain over Newcastle in a move that angered many Geordies.
His career at PSG never got off the ground, and eventually Ekitike found his way to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt where he started to live up to the potential he'd been known for.
As a result, Newcastle identified him as the ideal replacement for Alexander Isak this summer, but just as Newcastle looked to be making headway on the move, Liverpool entered the race and took him out of our hands.
Newcastle came so close to signing Hugo Ekitike in the summer
The 23-year-old has got off to a flying start at Liverpool, which even saw him score against Newcastle at St James' Park.
Now, Ekitike's agent, Ali Barat, has told TuttoSport just how close Newcastle came to sealing the deal for Ekitike before the striker left them in the lurch ... again.
“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.”
Surely Newcastle won't try for a third time now
That's twice now that Ekitike has agreed a move to Newcastle before changing his mind last minute.
We don't see Liverpool wanting to part with him any time soon, but when that day comes, we doubt Newcastle will be in the queue for his signature.
As George W Bush once said, "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.”
