Who is Hugo Ekitike and what can PSG fans expect from new £30million striker?
- Michael Graham
- 15 July 2022
Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike appears to be Ligue 1-bound, but who is he?
Paris Saint-Germain look to have won the race to sign striker Hugo Ekitike from Stade Reims.
If reports are to be believed, the two clubs have settled on a price of close to £30million, with personal terms and a medical next on the agenda.
The talented 20-year-old has long been a target for Newcastle, though talks stalled last month due to a dispute with his agent.
Now it appears he is heading to Paris. But with the Ligue 1 champions already boasting Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mauro Icardi, why would they want to add Ekitike? Planet Sport looks at what the France Under-20 international can offer.
What is Hugo Ekitike's record?
Ekitike is still in the early part of his career - he began last season as Reims' fourth-choice striker - 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 with 10 coming in his 26 Ligue 1 matches (and four assists) and another in the Coupe de France.
Ekitike also has 11 matches in the Danish Superliga under his belt 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.
Who has Hugo Ekitike been compared to?
French football loves a comparison, and Ekitike has been likened to some pretty special names from past and present fayre bursting onto the scene last season.
David Trezequet has been mentioned. However, Ekitike likes to play down the left-hand channel, coming inside on his stronger right foot. His standout attributes are his one-touch finishing, tenacity, work rate and movement. So in terms of style he is more in the mould of Kylian Mbappe and Thierry Henry. Whether he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those two in terms of quality remains to be seen.
Who has Hugo Ekitike been linked with before?
Newcastle tried to sign him in January, having identified him as a player they liked very early on in their transformation.
The moneybags Magpies were leading the race for a long time 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, but only very tenuously.
Now Paris Saint-Germain are on the scene, with the allure of joining up with a stellar list of star names appearing to have turned Ekitike's head.
