A big update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Stade de Reims gem Hugo Ekitike...
What's the talk?
According to Football Insider, the Magpies have made the striker their number one transfer target heading into the summer window.
They attempted to land him earlier this year and failed with an offer in the region of £20m. PIF are now in the driving seat to secure his services at the second time of asking ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
The Ligue 1 side are said to value him at £25m and Newcastle are now leading the race, ahead of their rivals, for his signature.
Forget Wilson
Chris Wood has not had the best of time in front of goal since making his switch from Burnley in the January transfer window. He has only scored one goal in 11 games for the club and this may be causing Toon fans to be anxiously anticipating the return of Callum Wilson from injury.
The ex-Bournemouth forward is the club's top scorer in the Premier League with six strikes in 14 starts prior to picking up a knock in December.
However, they should now forget about Wilson as Ekitike would be an upgrade on the Englishman and is a player PIF must ensure that they are able to bring to the club in the coming months.
As you can see in the graphic above, Ekitike has outperformed Wilson in a number of key areas. He has a better goal-to-start ratio, scoring once every 1.55 starts, and has been more involved in the build-up play for his team with more key passes and completed dribbles, with both players playing in the top divisions of their respective countries.
This suggests that he would be an immediate upgrade in the number nine position if he is able to carry over his form to England, whilst he also has 11 years on the Toon forward and can lead the line for many years to come.
Ekitike is proving himself at the top level and Howe will surely love to work with him, whilst having Wilson and Wood as back-up options and competition for the Frenchman.
90min reporter Graeme Bailey previously claimed that he can be "the next Mbappe" and his impressive statistics at the tender age of 19 suggest that it is not a completely baseless prediction. He has an impressive goal return considering his team are 13th in the table, whilst the PSG man has 17 goals in 27 Ligue 1 outings - a strike every 1.58 matches.
PIF must now get this prospective £25m deal over the line...
AND in other news, Wood upgrade: PIF will be having NUFC nightmares after missing out on £20m "cult hero"...