Fresh claim made about Magpies pursuit of Hugo Ekitike
Newcastle United were incredibly active in the January transfer window, as the club spent over £90 million to try and ensure Eddie Howe was provided with the best possible squad to fight the threat of relegation. Safety was secured with little drama in the second half of the season, as a fine run of form from January onwards pulled the side away from relegation danger which they never fell back towards and several of the January signings were key in that turnaround.
However, one signing which they missed out on was Reims forward Hugo Ekitike. The Magpies were said to have had a bid accepted for the teenage striker but Ekitike chose to remain in France to finish the season.
Newcastle were always likely to return for the player this summer and now Sky Sports News are reporting that a deal is close, with Reims 'allowed' Newcastle to speak to the player, with an agreement close for the player who scored 11 Ligue 1 goals last season.
Read more: Sven Botman changes his tune amid Newcastle and AC Milan transfer battle
Bruno Guimaraes selected in SuperComputer 'team of the season'
One of the January targets which did come through was Bruno Guimaraes, who signed for almost £40million from Lyon. Eddie Howe was slow to bring the Brazilian into the team but when he was given his chance, he was one of the standout players of the second half of the Premier League season.
That form has been recognised by Bet Victor's 'stat based team of the year', which chose the Newcastle fan favourite in defensive midfield over Manchester City's Rodri. Explaining his inclusion, Bet Victor said :
"The 24-year-old is the top-rated defensive midfielder for non-penalty expected goals with 0.27 per 90. His 0.96 shots on target per 90 is a better rate than that achieved by teammates Callum Wilson (0.84) and Allan Saint-Maximin (0.83) – meaning the Brazilian brings a deadly goalscoring threat to his game. Something which has been spotted at international level, with him becoming a regular in Tite’s squad ahead of the 2022 World Cup."
54 players linked in May shows Newcastle United agent problem this summer
As transfer stories will dominate the news for the summer, Newcastle will be the team most often linked with any player looking to move, or perhaps secure an improved contract at their club. That's due to the fact that everybody knows Newcastle's new found financial power and their ambition to climb the Premier League table.
As such, there were 54 players linked to the club in May alone, including AC Milan's star forward in their Serie A title win, Rafael Leao, Ismaila Sarr and Darwin Nunez. Read on for the full list.
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