Man Utd make ‘serious’ bid to hijack Hugo Ekitike transfer as Newcastle offer is REJECTED

Manchester United are reported to have made a ‘serious’ 11th-hour bid to gazump Newcastle in the race for Hugo Ekitike – and a strong report claims INEOS may have found a way to ‘speed up’ their quest to sign the in-demand Eintracht Frankfurt striker.

The 23-year-old striker is one of the most wanted players in world football this summer, off the back of an excellent season in front of goal for the Bundesliga side and with his Frankfurt side making it clear they are open to his sale. And while a series of Premier League suitors have all been linked with Ekitike, it is Newcastle who have burst into pole position to secure his signing off the back of a firm approach to the German side in the last few days.

That move to bring the France Under-21s striker to Tyneside appears to be hurtling towards a rapid conclusion.

Both David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano have revealed a deal is ‘being worked on’, while Ben Jacobs has revealed a delegation from Newcastle has been dispatched to Germany to finalise what will prove a club-record transfer.

However, just as the end appeared to be in sight for Newcastle – and fans were beginning to dream of a goal-crazy partnership alongside Alexander Isak – Sky Sports revealed in an update on X on Tuesday afternoon that the Magpies’ offer, worth a club-record £70m (€80.6m, $94m) has now been rejected.

And it gets worse for Newcastle after it was reported Eddie Howe’s dreams may be about to be crushed for good, with Manchester United ready to launch their own bid to gazump the move and having already ‘made contact’ with the Frenchman’s agents.

That’s according to Caught Offside, who claims that United ‘are one of the clubs making the most serious attempts for Ekitike’ with sources insisting that the Red Devils have ‘made contact’ with Ekitike and his agents.

Furthermore, they report that an INEOS powerplay has seen them find a way of potentially speeding up their own quest to sign the player, while it is also understood that United ‘are considering a player plus cash offer to speed up the transfer’, despite acknowledging that both Newcastle and fellow suitors, Liverpool, still remain keen.

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Hugo Ekitike: Pundit still hopes Newcastle beat Man Utd to signing

Frankfurt’s decision to reject Newcastle’s opening offer surround the fact that they value the Frenchman at nearer the €100m (£86.7m, $118m) mark – and that has always been the price-point the Bundesliga side have quoted interested parties for the 6ft 3in star.

Now United have entered the running, that has given Frankfurt the confidence to, firstly, reject the Newcastle bid and secondly, that a possible bidding war can potentially drive up his price and see their demands met, or come closer to being met.

It remains to be seen if Newcastle raise their offer again, though news on Tuesday afternoon that Liverpool have now made an official enquiry for Isak’s services, which comes to you via our transfer blog in the first instance, will likely only result in strengthening their own determination to bring in the Frenchman.

Despite that, former West Ham, Sunderland and Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison hopes the Premier League gets to see an Ekitike and Isak partnership next season.

“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 [Fabian] Schar, [Dan] Burn and [Sven] Botman, 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.”

Newcastle transfer latest: Real Madrid star the Plan B; two Longstaff replacements eyed

As a possible Plan B to Ekitike, reports in Spain suggest Newcastle are also planning a raid on Real Madrid for one of their attackers, with a €70m bid planned to tempt Los Blancos into cashing in for the star.

With Newcastle battling to land the Frenchman, he may not be the last player they embark on a battle with Liverpool to sign.

That’s amid claims the Premier League champions’ hopes of signing Marc Guehi are coming under a serious threat from Newcastle, with Howe ‘refusing to give up’ on a deal, though any hopes of signing the Crystal Palace star on the cheap appear to have vanished.

Meanwhile, with Leeds still chasing a deal for Sean Longstaff, it has emerged that the Magpies have already identified two potential replacements, though both players would come with pretty hefty fees.

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