Lionel Messi has reportedly taken a liking to new PSG signing Hugo Ekitike, who Newcastle United almost landed in the summer before the youngster’s move to Paris this year.
According to L’Equipe, the Argentine superstar has become something of a mentor for the 20-year-old striker, with Messi even giving Ekitike the nickname of ‘iron rod’ for the forward’s wiry frame, with the former Reims star certainly on the skinny side.
PSG signed Ekitike this summer initially on loan with an obligation to buy for £30m according to ESPN despite interest from Newcastle, with the Toon even chasing the French wonderkid in January to no avail. However, it was the Ligue 1 champions who eventually won the race.
Whilst minutes have been hard to come by, there’s a strong belief that Ekitike will work out in the future for PSG. And Messi giving the 20-year-old a nickname and taking a liking to the youngster is quite the testament to the attacker’s quality and staggering potential.
Indeed, Messi has adopted a new role at PSG this season under manager Christophe Galtier, with helping Ekitike in training seemingly one of the many tasks the footballing legend has taken this season, and the work done could have incredible long-term effects for the youngster.
Ekitike is regarded by many as one of France’s most exciting young players, and working alongside the likes of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is the perfect education any striker can have in top-flight football, much to the dismay of Newcastle.
Messi’s relationship with Ekitike could lead to the perfect striker
There are few better mentors in football for an attacker like Messi, and for Ekitike, this could help the French youth international become what many would consider to be the perfect striker, with the youngster already having all the physical attributes needed to become a top-class forward.
Tall, quick, strong, Ekitike has already been blessed with everything needed off the ball to become the perfect striker, and a year or two of sharing the same training pitch as Messi will do wonders for the attacker’s development, which could help the forward in becoming somewhat perfect in his position in the future.
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