Hugo Ekitike still looking for landing spots in January

Hugo Ekitike finds himself on the outside of PSG looking in after having joined the club as recently as last season. He is expected to be sold next January during the winter transfer window, mere months after he had an offer on the table to join Eintracht Frankfurt that he ultimately rejected in September.

PSG hoped to leverage Ekitike's departure as part of a deal with the German club on their business with the Bundesliga side for the arrival of Randal Kolo Muani, irked the PSG brass. Ultimately, Kolo Muani was signed. That, however, didn't fix the broken relationship between Ekitike and PSG.

Consequently, the 21-year-old forward has been excluded from the Champions League roster and consistently omitted from Luis Enrique's matchday squads, forcing him to watch PSG games from the stands while he and his agent wait for suitors interested in his services.

Recent reports suggested a potential transfer or loan for Ekitike in the upcoming window to Newcastle, which already showed interest in the youngster in the summer of 2022, but that was put to sleep on Friday, Dec. 1, when ChronicleLive revealed that the Magpies are not interested in rekindling their interest in the player.

The exact reasons for Newcastle's decision remain undisclosed, but it's believed that Ekitike's past refusals to join NUFC are factoring into it. Additionally, Newcastle's acquisition of Alexander Isak in 2022 for a hefty sum of €70m would make it hard for the English side to pay another bulky figure.

With Newcastle out of the picture, it looks like Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Brentford are going to be the main players in trying to sign (or loan) Ekitike off PSG next January.