Hugo Ekitike's Agent Exposes Liverpool's Shocking Last-Minute Newcastle Deal Sabotage

A representative involved in Newcastle United's attempt to secure Hugo Ekitiké has disclosed that a transfer agreement was in place to bring the forward to St James' Park before Liverpool's last-minute intervention.

Once Alexander Isak expressed his desire to depart this summer, Newcastle decided to revive their long-term interest in Ekitiké, however Liverpool had different intentions. Following an unsuccessful initial bid for Isak, the Merseyside club quickly indicated their intention to acquire Ekitiké as their backup option.

An agreement was rapidly finalized to secure the French striker's move to Anfield, where Isak would also eventually arrive, and representative Ali Barat has admitted the Reds came within hours of losing Ekitiké's services.

"I was representing Eintracht Frankfurt in negotiations to secure his move to Newcastle," Barat explained to Tuttosport. "I remained in Germany for 10 days. We finalized all arrangements with the German side and the player, then Liverpool contacted him and he opted for Anfield."

Ekitiké wasn't the sole player to decline other attractive offers in favor of a transfer. Florian Wirtz was broadly anticipated to bring his skills to Bayern Munich but turned down their proposal in favor of a £116 million ($156.6 million) move to Anfield.

Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß appeared on Doppelpass over the weekend to discuss his club's transfer activities. While criticizing Newcastle for using "Monopoly money" to outbid them for Nick Woltemade, Hoeneß also took a shot at Liverpool regarding the Wirtz transaction.

"We're extremely pleased at FC Bayern," Hoeneß stated. "We are the genuine victors of the summer transfer period. We possess a solid squad and didn't require significant reinforcement.

"Naturally, we would have welcomed Florian Wirtz, but we would never have purchased him for €150 million."