Late last night, a few big claims emerged as we approach what promises to be a frantic deadline day up and down the country!
Starting on Tyneside, the Daily Express’ Ryan Taylor reports that we are ‘back at the table’ and looking to strike a late deal for highly-rated Frenchman Hugo Ekitike.
The Reims striker – who is currently the highest scoring teenager across Europe’s top five leagues after eight goals in 18 games – was heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park just a few weeks ago, with the Ligue 1 club even confirming that we’d made an offer for the 19-year-old
Here’s what Taylor reported late last night, claiming we looked set to submit a new bid for the forward:
If a move for Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah is proving difficult, perhaps we have gone back in for the France U21 talent?
Sky Sports revealed just a few days ago that West Ham were in talks to sign Ekitike, however it looks like their attentions have now turned to Benfica’s Darwin Nunez – another familiar name for us NUFC fans!
Nunez is a player that’s been heavily linked with a move to Tyneside for a few months now, with head of recruitment Steve Nickson spotted in Portugal last year to watch the 22-year-old in action ahead of talks with president Rui Costa.
Mark Douglas revealed earlier this month that we’d been quoted £50m for the South American – who has bagged 20 goals in 25 games already this season – and Sky Sports revealed last night that he is the big money deal West Ham are hoping to complete on deadline day.
As for Burnley, Sky’s Keith Downie has revealed that our relegation rivals look set to replace Chris Wood with Dutch giant Wout Weghorst.
They have agreed a £12m deal with Wolfsburg and expect him to undergo his medical at Turf Moor this morning, however they won’t be signing Mislav Oršić after the Croatian’s £7m move broke down.
The Athletic confirmed our interest in Weghorst prior to EURO 2020 last summer, so it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on in the Premier League after bagging 59 goals in 118 Bundesliga appearances.
