With it looking likely to be confirmed the 19-year old wonder kid Hugo Ekitike has signed for the toon, let’s look at what Eddie Howe and the new owners may have managed to secure.
As a young right-footed centre forward who scored 10 goals and 4 assists in 24 appearances he was being tracked by many high profile clubs, but seems to have finally opted for the “Magpies project” over them all.
Currently playing for his French hometown club Reims, it looks like he could be swapping one NORTH-EAST CITY for another. I wonder what foot in the mouth pundit and commentator Gabby Agbonlahor is gonna spew out now?
The young man with a palindrome surname “EKITIKE” has turned defences in Ligue 1 back to front this season and is the highest scoring teenager in Europe.
The question will be can he replicate this in the English Premier League against some of the best defences in the world? He certainly has talent and clearly is ambitious. Toon fans will be hoping he can become another legend in waiting and not another Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The 19-year-old is said to now be in ‘advanced talks’ with Eddie Howe’s team, as the former Cherries boss looks to improve his attacking arsenal heading into the 22/23 campaign. At just £26million, the player could sign a five-year deal with United.
But with Ekitike’s agent at first ‘not convinced’ by the project in place here in the North East, just what has changed in the second half of the 21/22 season? Well, the Magpie’s metamorphosis under Howe was cataclysmic, dwelling in the bottom 3 for much of the season and then climbing well away from their initial relegation woes. It’s apparent to anyone with a footballing brain that Howe seemingly can get the very best out of players, maybe young Ekitike is the next one Howe will put an arm around and make into a Toon idol.