Newcastle's €80m bid for Hugo Ekitike rejected - Sky Germany explain why

A major update on Newcastle United's bid to sign Hugo Ekitike has arrived on Tuesday lunch time.

Last night, ESPN claimed that Newcastle were 'on the verge' of finalising a deal worth €80m (£69.5m) for the Frenchman, with super agent Ali Barat working on the final details to push through a transfer.

However, in an update from Sky Germany this afternoon, it seems the terms of this €80m package aren't quite right for Eintracht Frankfurt.

In an exclusive posted on X, Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg reports that our €80m 'written offer' has been rejected by the Bundesliga side, 'mainly due to the payment terms.'

The full details are not clear, but this strongly suggests that the structure of payments may not be appealing to Frankfurt, who may be demanding a greater up front sum, for example.

Plettenberg adds that their sporting director, Markus Krösche, 'wants more' for the 23-year-old, also stating 'there are clubs who have already signalled they would be willing to pay more.'

That last line is a suspicious one. If rival clubs are 'willing to pay more', why aren't they? This could be a message Frankfurt are pushing to the German media and to extract more out of Newcastle and potential scare tactic, to make us believe we're at risk of missing out.

Or perhaps it is true and other interested parties will soon enter the race and spark a bidding war?

Who knows, but speed could now be key for Newcastle, who would be wise to negotiate a structure of payments that works for all parties so we don't miss out on our man for the third time in three years.

🚨⚫️⚪️ EXCL | Eintracht Frankfurt are understood to have rejected a written offer from Newcastle this morning worth €80 million, mainly due to the payment terms. #NUFC

… and Markus Krösche wants more. There are clubs who have already signalled they would be willing to pay… pic.twitter.com/Ja4TvSB2Iy

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 15, 2025