Transfer News: Exciting Manchester United Target In Talks With Premier League Rival

Long-term Manchester United transfer target, Hugo Ekitike, is now said to be in talks with West Ham over a move to the Premier League.

Ekitike has had a whirlwind of 12 months as he secured a dream move to French giants Paris Saint Germain as he looked to compete with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi but it certainly turned into a nightmare extremely quickly.

The French youngster burst onto the scene in 2021 with Reims when he led the line as a teenager and managed to score 10 goals in Ligue 1 that season and convinced PSG he was the young star they needed to help bolster their star-studded attacking lineup.

Man United cooled their interest in Ekitike

During that process, he was chased by Newcastle United for a prolonged period of time and over the course of two transfer windows but he and his agent decided to reject the move despite the two clubs agreeing on a transfer fee, something that has certainly come back to haunt them.

Last season, Ekitike was only afforded 12 starts in Ligue 1 which has certainly stagnated his growth and even with Neymar and Messi leaving on a permanent basis, he is deemed surplus to requirements, piquing interest from some clubs in the Premier League.

West Ham want Filip Kostic and Hugo Ekitike before tomorrows deadline.@standardsport pic.twitter.com/5XQkVCkrFG

— West Ham (C)entral 🏆 (@WestHam_Central) August 31, 2023

Newcastle and Man United appear to have cooled their interest with the former having Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson to call upon and the latter signed Rasmus Hojlund earlier this summer to help Marcus Rashford lead the line for Erik ten Hag.

West Ham in talks to sign French striker

This has allowed both West Ham and Brentford to enter the race for Ekitike, who does indeed have a lot of potential but has struggled to show his talent on a consistent basis, although earning behind other strikers could be just what he needs at this stage of his career.

While Brentford are indeed interested, the fact that Ivan Toney will be returning in January, so once that happens, Ekitike’s minutes will be reduced. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Hammers are interested in the Frenchman who could be a superb understudy to Michail Antonio and prove to be solid competition across all competitions.