Newcastle transfer news: £29.7m star now a potential late signing as Ekitike deal collapses

Transfer insider Dean Jones has suggested that Newcastle could still revive their interest in Atalanta forward Duvan Zapata before Monday's 11pm deadline.

The Magpies have been looking to sign a striker in the final days of the transfer window, but it has proved to be a difficult challenge for the club to get a deal over the line.

It seemed that Newcastle had finally landed one of their targets when they had a £25m bid accepted by Reims for their teenage attacker Hugo Ekitike. 

The 19-year-old has scored eight Ligue 1 goals this season, and looked to be on his way to St James' Park.

However, it has now been reported that Ekitike is not convinced about the move, and that the transfer will no longer be happening.

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Newcastle were linked with Zapata earlier in the window, and it was even claimed that they had agreed to pay the Colombian forward £105,000-a-week.

These rumours appear to have died down in recent days, but now that the deal for Ekitike has collapsed, Jones has hinted that Newcastle could make a final play for Zapata, although he did admit that they would have to pay a huge fee for Atalanta to the £29.7m-rated striker go.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: “They had kept that Zapata deal on in the background. So, I guess it’s feasible they could turn to that but it’s going to cost a fortune to sign him now, at this stage, to get him out of Atalanta.

“They were already trying to push up the price, so with hours left, I can’t image they’re going to get him at a good price at all. So, not sure where they’ll turn here.”

The 30-year-old has continued to shine at Atalanta this season. He has scored nine league goals and provided five