00:00Could Newcastle United be about to break their transfer record fee for a player they targeted in 2022, just after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund bought the majority shares in the club?
00:16Well, that is the current rumour that is going around in transfer circles regarding Newcastle United.
00:22It surrounds the French forward Hugo Eketike, who currently plays for Eintracht Frankfurt, a club in the German Bundesliga.
00:30Who finished third last season, qualifying them to the Champions League.
00:34Newcastle had targeted Eketike in 2022, just a couple of months after the Investment Fund had bought Newcastle United, and he was currently playing in France at that point.
00:44Newcastle had agreed to fee for him, but ultimately Eketike and his agent snubbed joining Newcastle, instead opting for the French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
00:54Eketike didn't do perhaps as well as he wanted to upon his move to Paris Saint-Germain, and then ended up at Eintracht Frankfurt, where it's fair to say he has improved an awful lot, scoring several goals last season, and ultimately just showing how good of a player he is.
01:10So, it's understandable why Newcastle are interested in him.
01:14In terms of his playing style, he's actually quite similar to Alexander Ezek, and although some people are suggesting this may open the door for Ezek's departure from Newcastle,
01:22most reports are actually suggesting that Eddie Howe wants the two of them to play alongside each other in perhaps a new formation that Newcastle haven't trialled yet.
01:30So, let's go now to Joe Buck of the Shields Gazette. Joe, what are your thoughts on the matter? It seemingly seems that for Newcastle, this is the perfect type of transfer that they want to progress to the next level, and also, it could mean that Newcastle have someone else to play alongside Ezek.
01:44Yeah, it's absolutely all them things. I think, for all of them reasons, it does seem like the perfect transfer move.
01:51As he says, for the fact they can play together, I'm currently writing an article actually on that, that they both can play as a striker, as the main man.
01:58They can also play as number 10s, one behind the other, and I think that works, especially if you've got lightning quick wingers like Alanga and Gordon.
02:05If you've got them on either side of, you know, Ezek or Egetiki dropping back, or even both of them dropping back,
02:12it's a really exciting sort of front four you've got there. And, you know, in Newcastle, we've talked about this for a long time,
02:18we've struggled against defences that sit back, and maybe you thought they would solve that by getting a creative midfielder in there,
02:24but actually, the way they might be doing it is by getting someone like Egetiki and Ezek, who can actually drop into that little space that, you know,
02:30if the defence is on the, camp on the 18-yard box, Ezek or Egetiki can drop back a little bit and create that gap,
02:36create the little movement to, you know, to unlock them defences. So, I think it's a really shrewd move.
02:42Of course, £70 million, you know, Newcastle have got to get every single transfer right because of PSR.
02:47So far, they've done all that. I think every single big money transfer they've got right,
02:51this is another one that they have to get correct, but it's money you have to pay for a really good striker.
02:57You know, he scores goals in the Bundesliga, he scored goals in France.
03:00So, there's no, there is obviously a risk for him playing in the Premier League, but it doesn't seem like a risky one
03:05because of the goals he scored and the attributes he's got. As you say, he's very much like Ezek, similar build.
03:11And if Ezek does go next year and they've got a striker at the club already who's played a year and gets used to Premier League football,
03:19then it does seem a clever buy. I think, going back to 2022, his rejections twice obviously hurt Newcastle fans.
03:27I think there's a lot of ill feeling in there because, you know, you don't like to see your club get rejected by the same player,
03:32certainly twice, but he's a different player than he was then.
03:35You know, the first time in January, he wanted to stay at the club he's developed at.
03:39He didn't want to make that risky move to Newcastle, who, you know, let's not forget,
03:43at that time, he only won two Premier League games. Relegation was a real possibility.
03:47So, you know, you're not surprised to reject them then.
03:50And the summer after that, as soon as PSG's interest becomes known,
03:53any player in world football chooses PSG over Newcastle at that time.
03:56So, you can't really blame him for that either.
03:58So, hopefully, three years on, Newcastle have now shown they've got the track record of a manager,
04:03you know, developed players, have won trophies, have qualified twice in three years for the Champions League.
04:09Everyone's in a different position.
04:10So, it is a move that makes sense.
04:13And it is a really exciting one.
04:15Will it open the door for Isak's potential departure? Maybe.
04:18But I'm choosing to not focus on that negative now.
04:21Just focus on the excitement of getting what could be, you know,
04:24a £70 million player through the door.
04:27And, yeah, as I just mentioned, that sort of front four looks really exciting if they get this done.
04:32Because, ultimately, that's what we watch football for, don't we?
04:34We want to get excited.
04:35And I don't think there's any team in the Premier League with such an exciting array of attacking talent,
04:41you know, especially starting talent, than Newcastle may have next year.
