Remember at the start of the transfer window when it was Ekitike this and Ekitike that, and how collectively annoyed we were when he and his agent messed the club around, backing out of meetings and moving the goalposts for the transfer, only for the young Frenchman to join Paris Saint-Germain?
Well, it seems like we have dodged a bullet, so thank you Mr Awkward Agent Guy for being awkward and doing everything in your power to get your client a move to the French champions.
According to Newcastle World, Hugo Ekitike isn’t exactly setting the world alight in Paris following his summer move from Reims. So far this season he has amassed only 70 minutes of football, all coming as cameo substitute appearances – this is of course despite his insistence that if he were to move to Newcastle he would demand regular football.
Did We Dodge A Bullet Not Getting Ekitike?
Absolutely
We should try again if he's unsettled
It does seem, however, that his demands for game time have followed him to PSG, and given that he’s not getting what he wants, he’s decided to act out. Former PSG midfielder, Eric Rabesandratana has been speaking to French radio station, France Bleu Paris: “I’m not convinced by Hugo Ekitike because he has shown mental weaknesses.
“He’s young, but I find that, behaviour-wise, he doesn’t correspond at all to what you expect from him as a young person, and especially as a player who should impose him at PSG over the years.
“We need players who are focused on football, and I’m not sure that moaning every two seconds, half-bothering to do the exercises, because it bores him and he’d rather play games, is enough. No, you have to show a perfect state of mind to be considered by the manager.
“For the moment, I find that he is not yet professional. He’s more of a kid than a professional. He must grow.”
We certainly got a taste of his immaturity during our protracted negotiations during the summer, and it sounds like he can be very stroppy when things don’t go his way. Definitely not the kind of player we want at our club, and honestly, I’m surprised we stuck around the negotiating table as long as we did given Eddie Howe’s policy on player attitude.
Obviously, we’ll never know if things would have been different had he joined, but one thing is for sure, if we’d got Ekitike, we wouldn’t have Alexander Isak, and I know which one I’d rather have.
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