According to The Athletic, Newcastle United have distanced themselves from January moves for PSG’s Hugo Ekitike and Barcelona winger Raphinha.
Chris Waugh – The Athletic’s main man for all things Newcastle – confirms that we are in the market for another attacker this month, but links to both ‘have been played down’ by the club.
Ekitike is expected to leave the French giants after a complete lack of game time under Luis Enrique. He has been linked, ticks boxes as a versatile forward who can play out wide or up top and was clearly liked when we to sign him 18 months ago. However, it seems we’re looking elsewhere after his dismal spell in Paris.
As for Raphinha, the former Leeds winger has been continually mentioned as a leading target by the Spanish press, with Sport reporting earlier this week that we’d ‘reignited our interest’ in the Brazilian now Barca are considering cashing in on the 27-year-old.
Instead, The Athletic seem to think it’ll be temporary deals or loan-to-buys, with the bulk of our spending in 2024 likely to come in the summer.
