Transfer News: Chelsea have been interested in Stade Reims teenage sensation Hugo Ekitike. .
According to 90min (h/t Express), Chelsea sent scouts to watch Stade de Reims forward Hugo Ekitike take to the field for the first time since being heavily linked to Premier League rivals Newcastle United last month.
The winter transfer window saw the 19-year-old garner interest from Tyneside as the Magpies looked to flex their financial might. He however chose to stay put at Reims until the end of the season, offering other clubs the opportunity to move for him in the summer.
Should Newcastle decide to make a summer move for the forward, then they are likely to face competition from several parties including Chelsea and Manchester United, who also sent their scouts to assess Ekitike on the weekend.
The Blues may be in need of a new target man at the end of the season, given that their current forwards have been falling short of the expected mark and are struggling to find the back of the net on a regular basis. Still just 19, Chelsea could mould him into just the player they seek to lead the line.
Chelsea’s interest in the French striker is hardly surprising, given that the Reims man is currently the highest-scoring teenager in all of Europe’s top five leagues. As a top European side, the Blues are always going to be interested in the world’s best young players, and Ekitike certainly makes the cut.
It will certainly be a fight to gain the services of the highly talented striker in the summer as Chelsea have to go up against mega-rich clubs like Newcastle United and Manchester United who have little qualms about splashing the cash.
A young, exciting striker is maybe what Chelsea need at the moment, given the poor form of their current crop of attackers. Romelu Lukaku was brought in at the beginning of the campaign to boost the Blues’ goal scoring output, but the Belgian looks far from his best at the moment.
German duo Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have fallen off the scoring trail recently, and Chelsea have been looking to other players to step up in their stead. With Lukaku and Christian Pulisic also struggling, Tuchel’s options upfront are spread thin. Ekitike scored at the weekend in the 5-0 thumping of Bordeaux and will surely have left an impression on the Chelsea scouts watching on.
Only time will tell if Chelsea will actively pursue Ekitike in the summer, given that they are welcoming back their own young sensation Armando Broja at the end of the season when he returns from his loan spell at Southampton.
However, with the Saints said to be interested in signing Broja permanently for the new campaign, perhaps the Blues will be forced to dip into the transfer market to snap up Ekitike to add to their attacking ranks.
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