Hugo Ekitike (not playing for Liverpool for a while)

[Whitley mag]

Looks like we’ve set our sights high on the 2nd striker. Can’t see us paying that release clause for Ekitike, but would be interesting to know if likes of Openda and Sesko are also on our list, if where talking about paying this kind of money.

[Groundhog63]

9 hours ago, Willow said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lasted 1.34 seconds then had to stop. I'll watch it if/when we sign him 😂

 

12 hours ago, duo said:

Do I think the signing is unlikely? Absolutely - however until I hear Liverpool are interested I will hold out hope - just enjoy us being linked with players such as these. 

 

Very much this ☝️

 

Have to say I'm still at the point where I get frustrated at people, willingly, offering up our best players to finance incomings. "Gordon to Liverpool" for eg. I totally get the reality of PSR but I also totally get the reality that I haven't got a fucking clue to how much we can afford. 

Can't help being a supporter trapped in the conundrum that is pragmatism v reach for the stars. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2025 by Groundhog63

[Keegans Export]

1 hour ago, GeordieDazzler said:

Marmoush outscored Ekitike for Frankfurt in only half a season and only went for £59m or so. 
 

I think clubs with these hot property strikers are finding it trickier than they anticipated to find a buyer. They expected a bidding war but that doesn’t seem to have happened for any of them. 
 

Osimhen, Gyokeres both look to be going for under the originally quoted amounts. I think Ekitike will probably end up going for about £65m/£70m if at all. 

There is a limited number of clubs who both need a striker and can pay £80m+ for one. The pool of "elite" strikers is small, but the pool of potential landing spots is possibly even smaller.

[cubaricho]

9 hours ago, M1tche said:

Would any accept selling Gordon if it meant signing:-

Ekitike 

Scalvini

Trafford

Gallagher? 

We only need to sell Longstaff and possibly Willock (although I’d keep him) for these to all go through at decent prices. 
 

(And make the CL next year too)

 

 

Edited July 13, 2025 by cubaricho

[Whitley mag]

If Ektike is an alternative to Pedro it’s a brilliant move and signal of our intent. My only concern is that if he’s a replacement for Gordon, he looks like he can play across the front 3, but is he disciplined enough to play the Gordon role defensively not sure.

[healthyaddiction]

1 minute ago, Whitley mag said:

If Ektike is an alternative to Pedro it’s a brilliant move and signal of our intent. My only concern is that if he’s a replacement for Gordon, he looks like he can play across the front 3, but is he disciplined enough to play the Gordon role defensively not sure.

Gordon broken a leg recently or something?

[PauloGeordio]

28 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

If Ektike is an alternative to Pedro it’s a brilliant move and signal of our intent. My only concern is that if he’s a replacement for Gordon, he looks like he can play across the front 3, but is he disciplined enough to play the Gordon role defensively not sure.

He wouldn't have a choice!

 

[duo]

41 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

If Ektike is an alternative to Pedro it’s a brilliant move and signal of our intent. My only concern is that if he’s a replacement for Gordon, he looks like he can play across the front 3, but is he disciplined enough to play the Gordon role defensively not sure.

Why do you think he's a Gordon replacement? They are totally different players.  Our biggest issue last season was not feeding Isak enough - we lacked that killer pass.  I can see this lad very much playing with Isak - he's not going to come to sit on the bench.  The added bonus is if Isak does gets injured / needs a rest we have a striker who seems very much in his mold.  This signing makes total sense to me.

[gbandit]

If we were to sign Ekitike, Trafford and Scalvini then I think we could go on a title run. The issue would be also playing in Europe and the depth of our squad. If we made those signings and weren’t in Europe I’d expect us to be top three

[KaKa]

Just now, duo said:

Why do you think he's a Gordon replacement? They are totally different players.  Our biggest issue last season was not feeding Isak enough - we lacked that killer pass.  I can see this lad very much playing with Isak - he's not going to come to sit on the bench.  The added bonus is if Isak does gets injured / needs a rest we have a striker who seems very much in his mold.  This signing makes total sense to me.

 

As much as people want Newcastle to be good, they seemingly can't handle the possibility of it happening.

 

The constant downplaying of links to any really good players for one reason or the other is pretty astonishing and unfortunate really.

 

Not every deal will be successfully completed, but I really like that Howe and his team are so ambitious, and going against some of the big boys for players.

 

Even if we land just one of them it will be worth it. Can always pivot to other targets if it doesn't work out.

[HayDen Traces]

13 minutes ago, duo said:

Why do you think he's a Gordon replacement? They are totally different players.  Our biggest issue last season was not feeding Isak enough - we lacked that killer pass.  I can see this lad very much playing with Isak - he's not going to come to sit on the bench.  The added bonus is if Isak does gets injured / needs a rest we have a striker who seems very much in his mold.  This signing makes total sense to me.

I agree with this. It's us as fans reverting to that thinking of just 11 players. Facts are we'll be playing upwards of 60 games next season and we'll have to rotate.

We need different options, players with different skillsets to afford us different tactics and formations.

We're building a squad. Its not a 1 in 1 out situation.

[sushimonster85]

12 minutes ago, gbandit said:

If we were to sign Ekitike, Trafford and Scalvini then I think we could go on a title run. The issue would be also playing in Europe and the depth of our squad. If we made those signings and weren’t in Europe I’d expect us to be top three

 

Aye, you have hit the nail on the head in that second part. If we had made those signings in a year where we had no Europe then this squad, with those additions, assuming some luck went out way, could have at least pushed Arsenal/Liverpool.

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Whitley mag said:

If Ektike is an alternative to Pedro it’s a brilliant move and signal of our intent. My only concern is that if he’s a replacement for Gordon, he looks like he can play across the front 3, but is he disciplined enough to play the Gordon role defensively not sure.

 

 

I don't think Howe would want to sell either of his biggest assets which are Isak and Gordon. For me buying Ekitike is insurance against losing either one if a club like Liverpool try to unsettle them. It's not like we've got a massive squad, we can definitely have all of them on our books for a season with a view to selling lesser players like Longstaff or Barnes to offset the Ekitike fee. 

[duo]

7 minutes ago, HayDen Traces said:

I agree with this. It's us as fans reverting to that thinking of just 11 players. Facts are we'll be playing upwards of 60 games next season and we'll have to rotate.

We need different options, players with different skillsets to afford us different tactics and formations.

We're building a squad. Its not a 1 in 1 out situation.

I think Eddie has shown as well - he can play a formation other than 433 

[PauloGeordio]

3 hours ago, TRon said:

 

 

I don't think Howe would want to sell either of his biggest assets which are Isak and Gordon. For me buying Ekitike is insurance against losing either one if a club like Liverpool try to unsettle them. It's not like we've got a massive squad, we can definitely have all of them on our books for a season with a view to selling lesser players like Longstaff or Barnes to offset the Ekitike fee. 

I think the Miggy, Kelly plus Longstaff and possibly Willock or Targett money alone would be enough to cover Ekitike. I’m allowing myself to get excited about this. Even if we miss, we should still be aiming for the stars! 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2025 by PauloGeordio

[Dr Venkman]

17 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

As much as people want Newcastle to be good, they seemingly can't handle the possibility of it happening.

 

The constant downplaying of links to any really good players for one reason or the other is pretty astonishing and unfortunate really.

Plenty of people have worried themselves into holding the position that we need to sign new players to stop Isak from leaving, but if we sign too many or one in a certain position, he’s leaving. Must be fucking miserable living your life like that.

[KingArthur]

The thing is, I cannot see Joelinton not starting. And we are not signing a 80 million players on the bench. 

 

That means Ekitike playing on the left and Gordon leaving, or all this being a BS rumour. Or him being Isak replacement.

[madras]

Just now, KingArthur said:

The thing is, I cannot see Joelinton not starting. And we are not signing a 80 million players on the bench. 

 

That means Ekitike playing on the left and Gordon leaving, or all this being a BS rumour. Or him being Isak replacement.

You can only see that if we have to stick to the 433. I think we'll see a lot more variation this season.

[duo]

6 minutes ago, madras said:

You can only see that if we have to stick to the 433. I think we'll see a lot more variation this season.

This ^ - if Eddie has taught us anything it is that he's always looking to evolve the way we play

[Menace]

Ekitike is absolutely quality. If we sign him and 3 more of the same tier signings I fully expect us to challenge 

[TRon]

10 minutes ago, KingArthur said:

The thing is, I cannot see Joelinton not starting. And we are not signing a 80 million players on the bench. 

 

That means Ekitike playing on the left and Gordon leaving, or all this being a BS rumour. Or him being Isak replacement.

 

I think with 40 plus games next season we would have no problem giving enough games to both Isak and Ekitike even if we just rotated them as strikers. 

[Dan Gleebals]

8 minutes ago, madras said:

You can only see that if we have to stick to the 433. I think we'll see a lot more variation this season.

 

Agree. Especially against low block sides, which we can struggle against.  

[Mole]

6 minutes ago, KingArthur said:

The thing is, I cannot see Joelinton not starting. And we are not signing a 80 million players on the bench. 

 

That means Ekitike playing on the left and Gordon leaving, or all this being a BS rumour. Or him being Isak replacement.

The thing is, that's how you progress. Starters become less important and so on. If the club has the ambition that they seem to have then nobody will be exempt from this. 

[HayDen Traces]

We need a meme of Neo from the matrix saying "there is no 11"

[Hanshithispantz]

The tactics nerds will know better, but could we consider the Rangnick style 4222 if we're looking at Ekitike? We'd have a lot of flexibility you'd imagine with a few players being able to cover the attacking mid and striker roles.

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2025 by Hanshithispantz