Hugo Ekitike has stayed tight-lipped on his future but the striker could not help but smile when a Stade de Reims supporter reputedly asked him if he would be joining Newcastle United this summer.
Newcastle, of course, had an offer accepted by Reims for Ekitike earlier this month after the Magpies revisited a bid for the highly-rated 20-year-old, who did not feel ready to move to St James' Park last January. However, in some ways, agreeing a fee of around £25.6m, depending on various add-ons being met, was the straightforward part.
This has been a huge decision for Ekitike to make, after just one campaign in Ligue 1, and the youngster's season only finished less than a fortnight ago after he suffered a hamstring injury while representing France's under-20s at the Maurice Revello tournament. Ekitike's agent, Karl Mwalako Buchmann, appears to have been assessing his options but one potential suitor, Borussia Dortmund, have already signed another 20-year-old with immense potential in Karim Adeyemi from Red Bull Salzburg and the Bundesliga giants are now closing in on Ajax striker Sebastien Haller.
