Man Utd have entered the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike ahead of Premier League rivals Newcastle, according to reports.
The Red Devils have so far made just two new signings this summer with Matheus Cunha arriving from Wolves and younger Diego Leon joining from Cerro Porteno.
They are still working on a deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford with The Athletic‘s David Ornstein reporting that Man Utd and the Bees are still quite far apart in terms of valuation.
Man Utd also want to sign a new centre-forward this summer with either Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee – who scored just seven Premier League goals between them last term – likely to leave.
And now Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ekitike is on their radar despite Newcastle clearly pushing ahead to sign the France international.
Transfer journalist Ben Jacobs wrote on X on Monday: ‘Newcastle United have sent a delegation to Germany to discuss terms with Hugo Ekitike as they push to secure the Frankfurt striker’s signature. Talks have begun with Frankfurt as well.
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‘NUFC have waited until July to make a move due to the new financial year, and a belief Ekitike’s €100m price tag will drop later in the window. Ekitike has been on Newcastle’s radar since before he joined PSG in 2023.’
If Newcastle attempt to wait for his price to drop then they could risk allowing Man Utd or another Premier League club into the race and the Red Devils have ‘made their move’.
Caught Offside claims that Man Utd ‘are one of the clubs making the most serious attempts for Ekitike’ and sources have insisted that the Red Devils have ‘made contact’ with Ekitike and his agents.
It is understood that Man Utd ‘are considering a player plus cash offer to speed up the transfer’ but Newcastle and Liverpool are also very interested in the striker.
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Former West Ham, Sunderland and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison hopes Newcastle can sign Ekitike to play alongside Alexander Isak up front.
“For me, I want Newcastle to sign Hugo Ekitike. I know people will say that Newcastle have got Alexander Isak already, and they don’t need two No. 9s.
“But you need a deep squad, and Inter Milan can set up with two strikers and make it work. I think Newcastle have got the players to work with two up top. They’ve got Schar, Burn and Botrman, that’s a natural back three. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento can play wing-backs either side, and they have that brilliant three in midfield. Put Isak alongside Ekitike up front, and that’s quite some partnership.
“You can have Anthony Gordon, Antony Elanga and Jacob Murphy battling for spots, and Gordon can play through the middle. But I really don’t understand why Ekitike isn’t getting talked about more, because he is a super centre-forward.”
