Newcastle United have backed away from January offers for PSG’s Hugo Ekitike and Barcelona winger Raphinha, according to The Athletic.
The Athletic’s primary guy for all things Newcastle, Chris Waugh, reveals that we are looking for another attacker this month, but links to both ‘have been played down’ by the club.
Ekitike is poised to quit the French giants after receiving little playing time under Luis Enrique. He’s been connected, he checks the boxes for a flexible forward who can play out wide or up top, and he was clearly loved when we signed him 18 months ago. However, after his disastrous stint in Paris, it appears we’re searching elsewhere.
Raphinha, the former Leeds winger, has been touted as a top target by the Spanish press, with Sport stating earlier this week that we’d’reignited our interest’ in the Brazilian now that Barcelona is considering selling him.
Instead, The Athletic believes it will be temporary agreements or loan-to-buys, with the majority of our investment in 2024 coming in the summer.