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Interesting Wednesday latest on Sven Botman and Hugo Ekitike deal updates – Report

2 years ago
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Sven Botman and Hugo Ekitike are the two names on all fans’ lips.

Newcastle United trying to sign both players in January 2022.

Now back for another go in summer 2022 and whilst Reims FC have accepted Newcastle United’s bid for Hugh Ekitike, there is still work to do seemingly before that move may happen.

Whilst with Sven Botman, he has made public that both Newcastle United and AC Milan are trying to sign him this summer, with widely reported claims that Newcastle have made an offer, or indeed offers, for the 22 year old.

Now one of the definitely more reliable NUFC journalists has given an update…

Craig Hope of The Mail reporting via his Twitter account – 15 June 2022:

“Newcastle United moves for Sven Botman and Hugo Ekitike remain stuck this morning.

“Botman deal not agreed, Lille want €40m (approx £34.5m). Issue is with club, not player.

“Ekitike deal agreed with Reims but agent holding out amid Dortmund interest.

“More hope for movement on Ekitike than Botman at present.

“Re alternatives, NUFC like Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca but feeling he prefers to stay in Italy.

“Interest in Chelsea’s Armando Broja.

“In defence, Nathan Ake too much and Lloyd Kelly unlikely.

“Plenty names still in play and long way to go, but preference is to get Botman / Ekitike.”

For me, the whole thing comes down to trust.

Forget about these particular names / individuals mentioned above, I think instead people just need to relax and put their trust in those now in charge of recruitment for Newcastle United.

I find it ironic that it is many of those who went so overboard about how great the new owners of Newcastle United are, who are then the same ones going into meltdown because eight months into their time in charge, these same new NUFC owners are supposedly making a mess of this transfer window.

Calm down. Many of those most vocal and bemoaning the fact that say Sven Botman hasn’t signed yet…I can guarantee you pretty much all of them have never seen the 22 year old centre-back ever play a single minute of football. Yet they are screaming to pay whatever it takes to get him, an extra £5m, £10m £whateverm…just pay it. You would think Newcastle United had offered a fiver for Virgil Van Dijk and just needed to up the offer to a tenner to seal the deal. I think Sven Botman sounds an exciting prospect and great if Newcastle can sign him BUT never mind not being Virgil Van Dijk, Botman hasn’t even yet played a single minute for the senior Dutch first team.

Similarly, Hugo Ekitike has only ever started 15 Ligue 1 games and indeed hadn’t started any before last season. Yet for some NUFC fans, to miss out on him would be unforgivable…

This is not the Ashley, Charnley, Bruce clown-fest any longer, Newcastle United have seriously ambitious owners now and they are employing people like Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth to make the bug decisions.

They are the ones who know exactly what the limits of Newcastle United’s budget are this summer and beyond, they are the ones experienced in signing players…or indeed walking away from deals if that is the right thing to do.

In January 2022 it was exactly the same, so many Newcastle fans screaming give them whatever it takes to buy Diego Carlos and Sven Botman, even though they’d never even heard of them until Eddie Howe and his recruitment team had identified them as credible targets.

Of course neither defender signed for Newcastle in January but Dan Burn arrived on deadline day for £13m and Matt Targett the same day on loan.

Those two playing the biggest roles of all the January signings, in the stunning second half of the season (38 points in the final 19 games compared to 11 points from the first 19 of the season) for Newcastle United.

Obviously I would love Newcastle United to sign the best possible players this summer AND I am sure that the club will. However, they will sign them as part of a far bigger jigsaw, a long-term one, where we as fans can’t even see what the picture is on the cover, let alone be able to see all the pieces that go to make up that complete NUFC plan.

Also, it is not an exact science, mistakes will be made in recruitment. Even Kevin Keegan made the odd one.

All you do is put the best possible people in place to make those decisions and that is what Newcastle United now have, a massive relief after a decade and a half of Mike Ashley.

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