Everton in talks to sign Hugo Ekitike as Paris Saint-Germain FFP news emerges
Everton are in talks with PSG over a potential deal for forward Hugo Ekitike, according to Ben Jacobs.
Speaking to GiveMeSport on 13 August, the CBS journalist said the Toffees do hold a genuine interest in the Frenchman and that the Ligue 1 club are looking to move him on to help with their financial fair play situation.
He claims one possibility being discussed is for the Blues to loan the 21-year-old, with an option-to-buy clause being included in the deal.
“I think PSG feel like Hugo Ekitke hasn’t worked out,” said Jacobs. “And having fought off quite a bit of competition to sign him, with Newcastle in the mix, they are willing to let him go.
“And the Everton links are genuine, initial talks have been held. The structure of that deal is still being discussed, but one possibility is a loan with an option to buy. And PSG are largely looking when they offload to do what’s best for them from the perspective of financial fair play.
“So that obviously means that, where possible, they would like a fee, and they would like a lot of money upfront for that fee.”
Challenging
It looks as though PSG are pretty keen for Ekitike to leave the club, but it still could be a potentially challenging deal for Everton to pull off due to the financials involved and other sides being interested in the player.
After spending last season on loan with The Parisians from Reims, his deal only become permanent in June due to an obligation to buy clause in his contract, with the Ligue 1 champions paying a reported £30.2million.
A loan deal prevents there being a high transfer fee for the Toffees to initially fork out, but you would imagine PSG will want to recoup the majority of the cash they just spent on signing him.
90min journalist Graeme Bailey tweeted on 11 August that it looks tough for the Blues to sign the forward as there is “increasing interest” around Europe, with Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt both holding talks to sign him.
It seems as though they are firmly in the race to land the Frenchman, but there may be easier deals to get over the line as Sean Dyche continues to try and strengthen his attacking options in this transfer window.
In other Everton news, a journalist has shared why Sean Dyche didn’t sign Ross Barkley.