Hugo Ekitike: Who is the 'special' talent that Newcastle United look set to sign on deadline day?

After a month-long pursuit of the Frenchman, it appears that Newcastle are closing in on the signing of Hugo Ekitike.

The Magpies saw an initial approach for Ekitike rejected by Stade Reims because of clauses in the deal that were described as ‘impossible’ to reach by President Jean-Pierre Caillot.

With a fee now agreed, many supporters will be wondering just what type of player Ekitike is and what he might bring to St James’s Park should a move be completed by tonight’s 11pm deadline.

The teenager, who doesn’t turn 20 until June, has been in electrifying form for Stade Reims this season netting eight goals and four assists in 20 appearances in all competitions.

This included a sterling run between September and the end of 2021 which saw Ekitike score seven times in just 10 games – a run that was halted after he received a red card against Marseille.

Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall, many may expect the striker to be a ‘target man’ and someone that can help bring others into play with strong, traditional centre-forward play, however, that is not the case.

Whilst his stature does allow him to be a threat in the opposition box, Ekitike is a very athletic forward who can run into channels, link play from deep and someone who is also very adept at running in-behind the defence.

One of his major strengths is also an uncanny ability to be very good in tight situations. A great example of this came against Lyon earlier this season where Ekitike turned the defenders inside and out before coolly slotting the ball into an empty net.

Reims have one of the youngest average starting XI’s in Europe and that has allowed Ekitike to impress greatly whilst playing senior football this season and his boss Oscar Garcia, who used to coach at Barcelona, has spoken about Ekitike being a ‘special’ talent:

"There is something very special about him.” Garcia said. "He’s young, and he has the quality to become a very good player. He’s a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training.”

Ekitike’s rise to prominence has been very quick and even though he is untested in the Premier League, supporters have highlighted their great excitement at a potential deal:

@nufcsanjay: Wow, I'm genuinely speechless. We're on a mad one

@gdbarnes: Mehrdad with the finish. No idea who Ekitike is or if he's any good, but trust Mehrdad enough to know he's the new Thierry Henry. #NUFC

@RamonClayton6: What a start to deadline day…. All us Toon fans have been waiting for day like this for 15 yrs #nufc

@markie5672: Get in there...I know it's not done yet but got a feeling another forward who can play across the three is going to be critical to our survival hopes! Any injury to Wood and very exposed as we've seen in previous games

@godsonuk1: Would be a fantastic addition.

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