Julien Laurens praises striker who wants Newcastle move, but he’s ‘really raw’

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Newcastle United are keen on signing Reims striker Hugo Ekitike – but Julien Laurens isn’t sure he’s ready for Premier League stardom yet.

Newcastle have secured one striker by announcing the arrival of experienced hitman Chris Wood from Burnley.

Wood offers a veteran Premier League presence in the Newcastle attack, but what about adding an up-and-comer too?

Newcastle have been targeting a deal for Reims starlet Ekitike, who is taking French football by storm this season.

Ekitike, 19, has bagged eight goals and two assists in 17 games for Reims. The Daily Mail note that Ekitike has been compared to Kylian Mbappe and David Trezeguet.

That same report claims that Newcastle are ramping up their move for Ekitike, with the teenager allegedly keen on a move to St James’ Park.

Newcastle need to pay at least £25million for Ekitike, which is a huge gamble considering the striker’s relative inexperience.

Whilst Wood is signed for an instant impact, Ekitike could be a superstar down the line – and that’s exactly why Newcastle want him snapped up this month.

French football expert Julien Laurens has now offered his view on Ekitike, speaking on the Sky Sports Transfer Talk podcast.

Laurens suggested that Ekitike is ‘really, really good’ and ‘really talented’, but that Reims want him to return on loan if they sell to Newcastle.

Laurens denied that the price tag is ‘silly’ because Ekitike’s talent, but does admit that the teenager is ‘really raw’ at the moment.

This is Ekitike’s first season of Ligue 1 exposure, so Laurens just doesn’t think that Ekitike is ready for a starring Premier League role yet.

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But if Newcastle are willing to be patient, allowing Ekitike to bulk up and grow into his frame, then Laurens think they could have an ‘amazing talent’ on their hands.

“Silly, it depends because he is really, really good, really talented,” said Laurens. “It’s not that he would keep you up or not, because Reims want him to be loaned back to Reims for the end of the season anyway, so he would only arrive at Newcastle in the summer.”

“Right now, he would not be the saviour. He still needs to learn a lot, this is his first season really with the first team. He was on loan in Scandinavia for the last six months of last season, this is his breakthrough season in Ligue 1, he is still really raw.”

“He’s not ready for an amazing season in the Premier League and 20 goals, for example. He needs a bit of time, and yeah, it’s a lot of money for someone that you have to give time, that isn’t going to start every game and score tons of goals straight away. He’s tall and skinny, he needs to beef up a bit, he needs to be stronger in the challenges and all of that, but he’s got amazing talent,” he added.