'I want Newcastle to sign...': Don Hutchison says who Eddie Howe should go for next in the summer transfer window
Gateshead-born Newcastle United fan and former Sunderland player, Don Hutchison, has been having his say on what Eddie Howe should be looking to do next as the Anthony Elanga signing is wrapped up.
According to a post on X by Luke Edwards on Friday morning, Anthony Elanga is a Newcastle United player. However, at the time of writing, we're still awaiting official confirmation from the club.
Confirmation aside, it would take something catastrophic for the deal to fall apart now, we'd imagine, so it's time to look forward to what's next.
The James Trafford deal is still rumbling on in the background, but Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has said that a striker is Eddie Howe's next priority.
Don Hutchison wants Hugo Ekitike at Newcastle
Don Hutchison has been speaking to BestBettingSites (via The Mag) and he's given his opinion on who Newcastle should sign next, even going into how Eddie Howe could utilise him.
"For me, I want Newcastle to sign Hugo Ekitike. I know people will say that Newcastle have got Alexander Isak already, and they don’t need two No. 9s.
"But you need a deep squad, and Inter Milan can set up with two strikers and make it work. I think Newcastle have got the players to work with two up top. They’ve got Schar, Burn and Botrman, that’s a natural back three. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento can play wing-backs either side, and they have that brilliant three in midfield. Put Isak alongside Ekitike up front, and that’s quite some partnership.
"You can have Anthony Gordon, Antony Elanga and Jacob Murphy battling for spots, and Gordon can play through the middle. But I really don’t understand why Ekitike isn’t getting talked about more, because he is a super centre-forward."
Eddie Howe would have to change his style to accommodate Hugo Ekitike
Playing with two up top is something that Eddie Howe has dabbled with before with Callum Wilson and Isak, and there was talk of him changing to a two striker system next season in a bid to help the club land another top striker - after all, no top player is going to want to move in order to sit on the bench and watch Isak taking all the plaudits.
Newcastle are thought to be interested in Hugo Ekitike, and let's be honest, he should know enough about the project at Newcastle after coming so close to signing in 2022.
We'd certainly like to see him at Newcastle, but as we've said before, we're not sure he'd come here to play second fiddle to Isak, so without a change in style, it simply won't happen.
