Premier League pair Crystal Palace and West Ham United may be handed a second chance to sign Hugo Ekitike in January with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain now ready to consider loan deals.
You could forgive those Newcastle United supporters for engaging in a bit of schadenfraude.
Newcastle, after all, agreed a fee to sign Hugo Ekitike from Reims back in 2022; the striker rebuffing Eddie Howe’s advances on a number of occasions, such was his desire to join Paris Saint-Germain instead.
After Newcastle turned their focus to Alexander Isak, and with Ekitike now something of a persona non grata in the French capital, Howe can certainly console himself by knowing that the Magpies emerged as the victors from a saga which rumbled on for months on end.
Hugo Ekitike no longer wanted by Paris Saint-Germain
Ekitike only scored four times in his debut season at PSG; his impact paling into comparison to Isak’s at St James’ Park. The France U20 international has played a grand total of eight minutes in PSG’s first four Ligue 1 games of the new campaign too, left out of the matchday squad entirely against Lyon as punishment for turning down a late-summer switch to Eintracht Frankfurt.
According to L’Equipe, Ekitike snubbed Frankfurt because he only had eyes for the Premier League. West Ham were keen. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, came forward with a loan-to-buy deal. One which could have eventually set them back a club-record fee of £32 million.
PSG were only willing to consider a permanent sale at the time.
But, such is their determination to get Ekitike off the wage bill, L’Equipe reports that Le Parisiens have softened their stance. PSG are now willing to accept short-term offers in the winter, albeit with a substantial loan fee included in any agreement.
A second chance for Crystal Palace and West Ham
Whether or not Crystal Palace renew their interest in January may depend on whether Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta – outstanding in the 3-2 win over Wolves – can maintain their recent resurgence in front of goal.
Everton also showed an interest in Ekitike, according to The Athletic.
The potentially-inspired acquisition of Beto from Udinese, however, fills that particular void in Sean Dyche’s often-toothless frontline. The slaloming, snaking Beto certainly looks like the missing piece in Everton’s jigsaw, outstanding in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield United before September’s international break.
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