Newcastle are in pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike. It was earlier reported that the Magpies had submitted their first formal bid, valued at around £70 million, but the offer has since been rejected. It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will return with another bid for the player in the future. Nevertheless, one thing is now certain, Newcastle will only succeed in bringing Ekitike to the club if they break the club-record transfer fee. The current record is held by Alexander Isak, whose future still remains uncertain.
Isak joined Newcastle for a fee of £63 million from Real Sociedad in 2022 and has cemented his spot as the primary striker at St James’ Park. However, in the next season, Isak will have to partner with Ekitike if he arrives.
Notably, the Swedish striker was linked with a move away from Newcastle previously, but talks of his exit have died down. Now, reports have confirmed that the club have taken a firm decision regarding Isak’s future at the club.
According to The Athletic, Newcastle want to keep Isak at the club and are looking to have both the Swedish striker and Ekitike among their frontline options for next season.
Newcastle want to keep Alexander Isak despite Hugo Ekitike links
Since arriving from La Liga, Isak has appeared for Newcastle in 109 matches overall while scoring 62 goals. In this season alone, the Swedish international has found the back of the net 27 times in all competitions. These numbers underline Isak’s significance to Newcastle's attacking output.
It will be interesting to see how Eddie Howe’s men line up if Ekitike arrives at the club. Will the Magpies boss shift to a two-striker formation, moving from his current one-striker setup, or will the duo fight for a starting role?
As things stand, a question mark hangs over the arrival of Ekitike itself. However, the Magpies have made their stance clear, that they intend to keep Isak at the club, whether the French international joins or not.