After seeing their initial offer for Ekitike knocked back, Newcastle chiefs held a range of further discussions with Eintracht Frankfurt officials, but an agreement couldn’t be reached and the Magpies have now walked away.
Liverpool then made contact with the Bundesliga club and made their interest known – just 24 hours after they’d done the same with Newcastle and Alexander Isak – and are now said to have officially made their first bid for the French forward.
Frankfurt will hold out for more money, but Ekitike has made it clear he wants to join the Premier League champions.
Rather than risk being strung along, Newcastle have immediately turned their attention elsewhere and are now considering a bid for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, according to the Athletic.
Wissa has been one of the attacking targets on Newcastle’s radar since the start of the summer, and while a bid has not yet been tabled, Brentford are braced for the Magpies to make their move.
Wissa is moving into the final year of his contract with Brentford, though the Bees do have the option of a 12-month extension.
Nottingham Forest last week had a bid rejected for Wissa, said to be in the region of £20m. Forest also failed with a move to sign the 28-year-old back in January. There’s also said to be fresh interest from Tottenham, with former Brentford boss Thomas Frank keen on a reunion.
But any move for Wisa could be complicated by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Bryan Mbeumo this summer.
Mbeumo was a leading target for Newcastle at the start of the summer but made clear his desire to sign for Manchester United. However, United and Brentford have not yet reached an agreement and fresh reports this week claimed talks had stalled after the Bees pushed their asking price up towards £70m.
As for the latest developments with Ekitike, what’s not clear at this stage is whether Liverpool will retain their interest in Isak if they’re successful in landing the Frankfurt forward.
Liverpool have long admired Isak and made their interest known in the Swedish striker earlier this week, but the Magpies are adamant their star man is not for sale.