Newcastle United transfer target Hugo Ekitike wants further assurances he will be more than a just player "for tomorrow" at St James' Park.
As reported earlier this week, Chronicle Live understands that Ekitike's agent Karl Mwalako Buchmann has been told that the young star will get his fair share of time on the pitch. But it is still something the Reims ace would like to discuss further before committing to the club he turned down only in January.
The Magpies are keen to crank up talks for the 19-year-old but will have to find a way of accommodating him in Eddie Howe's starting line-up ahead of a crunch week of discussions. Ekitike still has other interest, with Borussia Dortmund on the list, but Newcastle are hopeful of concluding a £25.6million deal for the player sooner rather than later.
Serious talks between the player's representatives and Newcastle could get under way next week. One of the main assurances Ekitike is after is where he will fit in on the field for Newcastle.
His preferred position is as a central striker where he has played in 18 matches of his career with Reims so far, scoring nine goals in the process. The teenager, who turns 20 on Monday, has only really had one full season of senior football in Ligue 1 and it was very much a learning curve.
The youngster picked up two red cards last season and will need careful management if he is thrown on to the big stage in the Premier League. But sources close to the player indicate that he is keen to discover how and where Newcastle intend to use him in terms of position.
With Callum Wilson regarded as the club's number 9 he is likely to start the season in the central striker role. Howe has often played a 4-3-3 formation with wingers either side of his strikers.
It's feasible that Ekitike could operate on the left of a front three, which is where he has played for Reims on occasion. But with that position occupied by Allan Saint-Maximin, the concern is how many starts would Ekitike be getting when everybody is fit and available.
Concerns over game-time were one of the big reasons why the Reims star stayed put in January in France, he said in May: "I have a lot of respect for that big club (Newcastle). But it was all happening very quickly, the timing wasn’t right. It was better to stay here, to play a full season, to establish myself."
