Who is Hugo Ekitike and what can Newcastle fans expect from new £40million striker?

Michael Graham
4 June 2022

Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike appears to be Premier League bound, but who is he?

Newcastle appear to have won the race to sign 19 year old striker Hugo Ekitike from Stade Reims this summer.

If reports are to be believed, a five-year deal has already been agreed and a the two clubs are close to settling on a price, likely to be around the £40million mark.

Just who is the talented teenager, though, and what are Newcastle getting for their money?

What is Hugo Ekitike's record?

Ekitike is still at the start of his career, so it's hard to read too much into his record. Anyone signing him is doing so based on what he is going to do, not on what he has done.

In fact, Ekitike has only scored 11 goals for Reims to date with 10 coming in his 26 Ligue 1 matches (with four assists in the competition also accredited to him) and another in the Coupe de France.

Ekitike also has 11 matches in the Danish Superliga under his belt too courtesy of a loan spell at Vejle BK, in which he scored three goals.

His international experience is limited to two caps for France under-20s without finding the net, but France is obviously a tough squad to force your way into.

Who has Hugo Ekitike been compared to?

French football love a comparison, and Ekitike has been likened to some pretty special names from past and present.

David Trezequet has been mentioned by some but that doesn't seem like the most accurate comparison out there.

Ekitike likes to play inside the left-hand channel and coming inside on his right foot, so in terms of style he is much comparable to Kylian Mbappe and Thierry Henry. Whether he can be mentioned in the same breath as those two in terms of quality very much remains to be seen.

Who has Hugo Ekitike been linked with before?

Newcastle tried to sign him in January, so it's clear they have identified him as a player they like from a very early stage.

The moneybags Magpies have been leading the race, but Borussia Dortmund have also been credited with a strong interest as they search for a replacement for Erling Haaland. Given the Bundesliga's track record in identifying top young talent, that is certainly an endorsement worth having.

Manchester United and Real Madrid have also been linked in the past, but only very tenuously.