I was forced to watch Newcastle United on TV after snubbing £25m transfer - I was 'lucky' not to sign

Newcastle submitted two bids for Ekitike during the winter and summer transfer windows but were snubbed by the forward 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 PSG 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 20 goals in 45 appearances for Frankfurt. And even though his spell at PSG was a frustrating one at the time, Ekitike has taken the positives from the transfer on reflection having worked alongside world-renowned attackers such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar for a season.

"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. Sometimes up close, sometimes a little further away."

A bullet dodged for Newcastle United?

Ekitike’s floundering spell at PSG made it seem as though Newcastle had dodged a bullet by being rejected by the forward. Especially as later in the window they ended up breaking their club transfer record to sign Alexander Isak for £63million.

The Swedish striker has since scored 48 goals in 74 Premier League appearances for The Magpies with only club legend Alan Shearer scoring more (148).

But Ekitike’s resurgence in Germany shows what Newcastle saw in the player to convince them to make two transfer bids for him three years ago. Frankfurt currently sit third in the Bundesliga table and have progressed to the last-16 of the Europa League.

Newcastle United’s strikers

Newcastle’s striker situation is an interesting one as they have one of the most in-form strikers in Europe, Alexander Isak, leading the line while Callum Wilson and Will Osula have barely got on the pitch this season. Neither Wilson nor Osula have started a Premier League match in 2024-25.

Wilson has been injured for the majority of the season while Osula’s minutes have been heavily limited since his £10million move from Sheffield United last summer. Wilson is also out of contract at the end of the season though Newcastle do have an extension option in his deal.

The club will look to bolster its attacking line in the summer with Lille striker Jonathan David linked as a potential free transfer option.

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