Whilst they continue to battle it out for their top targets, Newcastle United have now reportedly set their sights on an unexpected attacking reinforcement who’s worth £50m this summer.
Newcastle win Isak war as Liverpool swoop for Ekitike
It’s a fairly open secret that Newcastle were interested in Hugo Ekitike. Reports went as far as to suggest that they already submitted their first bid. But it was no simple deal.
Thanks to Liverpool, who have also reportedly made their first approach to sign the Frenchman, Newcastle found themselves in a tug-of-war with the Premier League champions. And it looks to be a battle that they’ve lost, perhaps at the benefit of winning the Alexander Isak war.
Left moving on to other targets, Newcastle can at least breathe a sigh of relief that Liverpool are now unlikely to make their move for Isak after seemingly pushing on to potentially seal Ekitike’s arrival.
Isak heir: Newcastle in talks to sign "exceptional" £40m Ekitike alternative
Newcastle are still on the hunt for a striker this summer
ByJoe NuttallJul 17, 2025
It’s the battle of the summer and one that Newcastle may be frustrated by. It’s also clear to see why that fight was centred around Isak and Ekitike. The two forwards both enjoyed excellent campaigns last time out and would instantly steal major headlines by completing big-money moves as the new season approaches.
Minutes
2,563
2,756
Goals
15
23
Assists
8
6
Expected Goals
21.6
20.3
With that said, as impressive as Ekitike is, Newcastle still have other targets in mind and that reportedly includes an unexpected Premier League rival.
Newcastle plotting shock Antony move
According to reports in Spain, Newcastle are now plotting a shock move to sign Antony from Manchester United, who have set their price at a hefty €58m (£50m) this summer.
The Brazilian winger will go down as one of Old Trafford’s biggest ever transfer flops after arriving for £86m in 2022, before enduring a nightmare spell. But last season’s loan move at Real Betis saw him get back to his best and may have even been enough to catch the attention of those at St James’ Park.
Appearances
26
Goals
9
Assists
5
What truly puts Antony’s contrasting form into context is the fact that he scored just 12 goals in 96 appearances for Manchester United, before heading to Betis on loan and scoring just two fewer than that in just 26 games.
It’s the type of form that earned the winger plenty of praise in Spain too, including from journalist Guillem Balague. He told BBC Sport: “Betis have given the man love and confidence, played him in the right position and played him all the time.
“He has been absolutely brilliant and he has been emotional. We saw a very cold guy at United, since he has gone to Betis and things have been working, we’ve seen him cry, we’ve see him laugh and Betis fans love that.”