Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has put his defenders on red alert as they prepare to come up against a man he wanted them to line up alongside this season.
Liverpool will arrive at St James’ Park on Monday night still hoping to lure the Magpies’ star striker Alexander Isak away from Tyneside before the summer transfer window closes, but having already got their hands on Hugo Ekitike, who might have replaced him.
The 23-year-old Frenchman, who completed a £69 million ($92.8m) switch to Anfield from Eintracht Frankfurt last month, was a long-term target for Newcastle and having missed out on his signature, they will have to deal with him as they look for a first win of the new Premier League season.
Howe said: “There’s no doubt I really like Hugo and have done for a number of years. He’s got really good qualities and he showed that in his first Premier League game. He had a really good debut against Bournemouth.
“He’s got really good movement, intelligent, good in the air, scores goals, scores off both feet. Our job will be to keep him quiet. He is going to be a threat this year.”
Ekitike has already demonstrated his prowess in English football, scoring in both the Community Shield defeat by Crystal Palace and last weekend’s 4-2 league victory over Bournemouth.
He was one of a series of attacking targets identified by the Magpies this summer as they search for a replacement for Callum Wilson and attempt to protect themselves should Isak be sold, and they have also missed out on João Pedro to Chelsea and Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United.
Howe has landed Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale, Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey and is currently pursuing Brentford’s Yoane Wissa and, with seemingly less chance of success, Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen, but he admits he will be glad to see the back of the window.
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He said: “I’ll be pleased when it’s here — pleased if we have what we want.
“Whenever you go through a window, there are ups and downs. It feels like there’s been quite a few downs in this one, but also quite a few positives as well.
“The players we’ve signed are very good players who will add a lot to the squad, a lot in terms of the ability, athleticism, fresh energy I’ve spoken about previously.
“There are big positives for us. Of course, there’s one big challenging situation that’s not resolved. From that side, I can’t wait for the end of the window because we can get back to focusing on the football matches.”
