Why Hugo Ekitike is 'ready' to join Newcastle as 'huge fan' Eddie Howe finally closes in

The Hugo Ekitike hype is very real within the media, with every top journalist now reporting on Newcastle United's serious attempts to sign the Frenchman.

It's an ambitious move, not just because of Ekitike's development into one of Europe's top young forwards, but due to the widespread acceptance that he's being targeted to play WITH Alexander Isak, not to replace him this summer.

But will he actually sign and what are the players' thoughts said to be on a potential move to St James' Park?

In a bold piece from ESPN's Julien Laurens, which claims Ekitike is 'ready' for a medical with a £69.5m agreement close, the highly respected French journalist reveals why the 23-year-old is keen to join Newcastle United after almost arriving three years ago.

According to Laurens, Ekitike is determined to break into the French national team and believes a move to the Premier League with Newcastle and Champions League football could significantly boost his chances of catching Didier Deschamps' eye.

Moving to Mark Douglas' latest piece for The iPaper, he reports that Eddie Howe is a 'huge fan' of the tall but technical forward, having made a big push to sign him not once but twice in 2022.

The boss believes Ekitike could be the perfect forward to complement Isak in attack, with a similar thought process seeing us pursue Joao Pedro before the Brazilian opted for Chelsea, suggesting Howe wants a creative and versatile option to play as a second striker just behind our star Swede.