Sven Botman contract details and reasons Hugo Ekitike to Newcastle collapsed

After an unexpectedly slow start to the summer transfer window, Newcastle United have finally got the ball rolling with two signings in the past week, with the Magpies finally securing a move for Sven Botman following Nick Pope's arrival from Burnley.

The Tyneside outfit had initially tried to sign Botman in the January transfer window but despite Lille refusing a sale, they never gave up and have finally landed him for £32 million plus £2.5m in add-ons.

Yet despite the success of that impressive addition to Eddie Howe's squad, all hope now seems to be lost on signing Reims striker Hugo Ekitike, whose demands have proved to be too much for the Magpies despite agreeing a deal last month.

Botman's arrival on Tyneside signals the end of a six-month-long transfer saga for the Premier League side, and the Dutchman has put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract at St. James' Park following another impressive season with the 2020/21 Ligue 1 champions.

The 22-year-old was set on joining Howe's team at the start of the year before Lille blocked a transfer, but his wish has finally been granted ahead of next season, in which he arrives as one of the highest-rated centre backs in European football, for an initial £32m fee.

The Magpies fought off heavy competition from Serie A champions and Italian giants AC Milan for the Netherlands under-21 international, who followed in the footsteps of Matt Targett and goalkeeper Nick Pope in walking through the St. James' Park doors this summer.

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His arrival not only means that Howe has secured his no.1 defensive target since taking over the club in November, but he has also completed a full rebuild of Newcastle's back-line, following the additions of Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn in January, before Targett signed permanently earlier this month.

However, the former Bournemouth manager would have hoped that Botman wasn't his third signing of the summer, but rather his fourth, due to the club's long-lasting and frustrating negotiations with Ligue 1 club Reims for 20-year-old striker Ekitike, who was also targeted at the start of the year.

Having rejected a move to Tyneside in the January transfer window in order to further develop his progress by remaining with Reims for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign, it was then agreed between the French outfit and Newcastle that a deal had been reached.

On June 2, Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot confirmed to FranceBleu.fr that a deal was "concrete" and that things had been left in the hands of Ekitike's "advisers". But in the near four weeks since, a deal with the 20-year-old forward is yet to be agreed on, and now the Magpies are expected to pull out of the race after growing tired of waiting.

Due to a combination of other interested parties and Ekitike having doubts over his guaranteed game-time at St.James' Park, it has left the France under-21 international and his agent mulling over their options for their next move, which has caused huge inconvenience to Howe and co.

Negotiations over certain terms have been difficult, with one source revealing that Paris Saint-Germain have expressed their interest, while it is also understood that the player's agent's demands proved a stumbling block to the move for the 20-year-old. As a result, Newcastle are prepared to walk away from the deal if no further progress is made.