West Ham United technical director Tim Steiden and PSG counterpart Luis Campos held positive talks for the transfer of Hugo Ekitike.
According to Foot Mercato , West Ham United held positive talks with Paris Saint-Germain to pursue Hugo Ekitike. The 21-year-old attacker does not have a place in the first-team squad for the season after a raft of changes to their attacking line, with the Hammers hopeful of securing his signature.
Paris Saint-German have responded aggressively to high-profile departures from their attacking setup by completely revamping the forward line. Only Kylian Mbappe remains part of the previous setup, as Lionel Messi and Neymar have all left the club for new adventures.
Goncalo Ramos arrived from Benfica, while Marco Asensio became one of their first summer captures on a free transfer from Real Madrid. PSG then managed to bring Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona and now are on the verge of signing Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The raft of new arrivals have left no place in the first team for 21-year-old attacker Hugo Ekitike. The former Reims star arrived with plenty of promise, but after 3 goals in 25 appearances, Luis Campos has decided to move him on if a decent offer arrives.
🚨🔴🔵🇫🇷 #Ligue1 |
◉ Réunion positive hier soir entre Luis Campos et Tim Steidten, le DS de West Ham au sujet d'Hugo Ekitike.
◉ En parallèle de cette discussion, le club anglais ont discuté avec les représentants du joueur .https://t.co/uKkeeK7M9B pic.twitter.com/kljQ4r7E3g
— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) August 22, 2023
Having paid a fee of nearly €30 million, PSG hopes to sell him for a similar figure. Everton were keen on Ekitike earlier this month, but now West Ham seems to have the upper hand, as they could end their striker search with the 21-year-old attacker.
West Ham had included Ekitike as part of their shortlist of young attackers once they allowed Giancluca Scamacca to leave. Michail Antonio has started the season brightly but will need domestic and European support during the current campaign.
Hence, David Moyes had tried his hand with several other options, with Eiktike their third choice if reports on other targets were accurate. After flirting with the idea of Folarin Balogun, West Ham focused on bringing Elye Wahi from Montpellier .
The 20-year-old has since joined Lens in a move that will see him continue in Ligue 1. With Balogun’s price out of reach for the Hammers, they have now opted to bring Ekitike, with the 21-year-old attacker’s price well within their range.
Talks between West Ham technical director and PSG counterpart Campos have had a positive outcome, and soon, a transfer could conclude. Things will depend on the Hammers and their offer ahead of the coming days.
Eiktike can take up some of the responsibility off Antonio and give Moyes an edge in the final third. They have already made some exciting additions with James Ward-Prowse, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Edson Alvarez.
A new striker would somewhat complete their summer business, although Moyes might look for a new attacking addition, with Mohammed Kudus linked.
