Crystal Palace have been among the recent transfer suitors for Paris Saint-Germain forward Hugo Ekitike, who is no longer wanted at the Parc des Princes, according to Jonathan Johnson in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.
The young Frenchman looked a hugely promising young talent when he first joined PSG, but it hasn’t worked out for him, so much so that the club were already keen to avoid making his loan move permanent, though it was too late for them to cancel the deal.
According to Johnson, Palace showed an interest in Ekitike in the summer, which proved problematic for PSG at the time, though it still seems likely that he’ll be shown the door soon.
It will be interesting to see if Palace come back in for the 21-year-old, but one thing’s for sure and that’s that he will be made available as PSG don’t want to keep him.
“I can confirm that Hugo Ekitike is no longer wanted at PSG following transfer rumours about his situation and a possible move to the Premier League,” Johnson said.
“The interest from Crystal Palace, which was also there towards the end of the summer transfer window, has been very problematic for PSG because he and his agent didn’t inform PSG that they were trying to negotiate a loan move to Crystal Palace. This was around the time PSG were negotiating a move for Randal Kolo Muani and Ekitike was of interest to Eintracht Frankfurt at that point.
“Ekitike has now been dropped from the squad, he’s not on PSG’s list for the Champions League, so his future at the Parc des Princes looks very bleak. There have been links with Everton as well, but I think interest from Newcastle is in the past now. Still, I certainly expect Ekitike to be on the move this winter because there’s no future for him in Paris.
“It’s going to be very difficult for PSG to get the kind of money back that they paid for him. PSG already knew they were over-paying for the player because the fee was agreed before his initial loan move, during which he lost massive value. They tried to get out of this deal but they were obliged to complete it.
“Realistically, PSG would now be lucky to get a paid loan with a view to a permanent transfer for around €20m, if everything were to go well, but I think it’s clear they’re going to have to accept a significant hit on this transfer, unless he can go out on loan and really impress and build up some value.”