West Ham United have submitted a £12.5 million for Ligue 1 wonderkid Hugo Ekitike as they look to beat Premier League rivals Newcastle to the striker’s signature, as reported by Le10 Sport.
On Monday afternoon, The Guardian claimed that a nouveau-riche Newcastle were leading the race for Ekitike’s signature, talks between Stade de Reims and The Magpies reaching an ‘advanced’ stage.
But, according to reports coming from the other side of the Channel, there is only one bid on Les Rouges et Blancs’ table at present. And it has arrived from the London Stadium, rather than St James’ Park.
Le10 Sport claim that West Ham have made an opening offer in the region of £12.5 million.
The chances of such a bid succeeding look slim, however, with Reims demanding closer to £25 million for a 19-year-old forward who was plying his trade on loan at Danish outfit Velje Boldklub only a few months ago.
Will Hugo Ekitike join West Ham rather than Newcastle?
Ekitike has made a remarkable impact in his breakthrough Ligue 1 season, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in 17 matches for a Reims side sitting 14th in the table.
“There is something very special about him,” said Reims’ former Brighton and Hove Albion coach Oscar Garcia, speaking to the Ligue 1 website.
“He’s young, and he has the quality to become a very good player. He’s started a lot of games now, he’s a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training.”
With West Ham making the first move, the ball is now in Newcastle’s court.
Bankrolled by Saudi Arabian billionaires with a bite to match their bark, one would imagine that West Ham would struggle to keep the pace with their relegation-threatened rivals if a bidding war for Ekitike’s signature breaks out.
Le10 Sport adds that another Ligue 1 hotshot, Clermont’s Mohamed Bayo, remains on West Ham’s radar while Patrik Schick, Arthur Cabral, Giovanni Simeone and Julian Alvarez have also been linked.
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