Hugo Ekitike posts two-word reaction to Newcastle United 4-0 defeat at Man City after £59m transfer agreement
Former Newcastle United transfer target Hugo Ekitike took to social media following Manchester City’s 4-0 win on Saturday afternoon.
Omar Marmoush scored a 14-minute hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium and James McAtee scored a late fourth to secure a comfortable win for Man City and inflict Newcastle’s biggest defeat since 2022. It marked Marmoush’s first goals for City since his £59million winter transfer from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Egyptian had scored 20 goals in 26 appearances for the German club before making the switch to the Premier League. And Marmoush’s former Frankfurt teammate Ekitike was quick to react to his hat-trick on social media.
Ekitike shared the Premier League’s official Instagram post, which read: “Omar Marmoush with a hat-trick in his third Premier League appearance. The Pharaoh has arrived.”
The French forward reacted to the post with the comment: “Say less.”
Hugo Ekitike’s failed Newcastle United transfer
Ekitike was one of Newcastle’s top transfer targets in the first two transfer windows following the takeover. The Magpies submitted two bids for Ekitike during the winter and summer transfer windows but were snubbed on both occasions. Ekitike’s former club Stade de Reims reportedly accepted a £25million bid from Newcastle only for the player to opt against a move and join Paris Saint-Germain instead.
But the move to the Ligue 1 champions didn’t go according to plan for Ekitike, as he was limited to mainly substitute appearances before being frozen out of the squad entirely after just one season. The French forward was forced to watch PSG’s 4-1 defeat at Newcastle in the Champions League on television back in October 2023 and he ended up joining Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the following transfer window.
The 22-year-old has reignited his career in Germany with 21 goals in 47 appearances for Frankfurt, forming a strong partnership with Marmoush prior to the winter transfer window.
And Ekitike believes he has been ‘lucky’ with where his career has taken him despite obvious frustrations at PSG.
"At the time, I didn't see things like that because I wanted to play," he told TNT Sports. "But it's only now, after spending a lot of time at home reflecting on what happened, that I've realised that I've been lucky enough to be in a place where no one else has been.
"I'm always on a quest to learn. I have a thirst for learning. I realised that at the end of the day, I'd maybe spent a year, a year-and-a-half watching the best players in the world go through their paces in training and even in matches [at PSG]. Sometimes up close, sometimes a little further away."
Hugo Ekitike price-tag set
While Newcastle may feel they dodged a bullet in missing out on Ekitike as they ultimately signed Alexander Isak to bolster their attack instead, the 22-year-old’s form in Germany means he won’t be short of potential suitors in the summer transfer window.
Frankfurt paid less than £15million for Ekitike last year but his impressive scoring form has more than quadrupled his value in the eyes of the Bundesliga side. According to reports from Germany, Eintracht would only consider offers in excess of the £59million recently accepted for Marmoush in January.