The post What Lionel Messi thought of Hugo Ekitike at PSG appeared first on DaveOCKOP. It has emerged what Lionel Messi thought of soon-to-be Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike during their time at the club together. The pair played together during the 2022/23 campaign.

More than any player, Ekitike somehow both reaffirms and rejects conventional wisdom and scouting biases. He's everything "dumb" clubs get wrong about transfers, and everything "smart" clubs get right.

That is because Ekitike once publicly claimed that he was a Manchester United fan. The Red Devils could’ve used that to their advantage if they had gone all out for his signature. Sadly for them, they will now have to watch the former PSG man play for their fiercest rivals, Liverpool.

Paris Saint-Germain are set to accelerate the talks for the signing of Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi (h/t RMC Sport). PSG have earmarked Zabarnyi as a top target to bolster the defence, but talks with the Cherries have hit a standstill.

Manchester United and Newcastle United are in talks to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani, according to reports in France. United have been frustrated in their search for a new striker this summer with Viktor Gyokeres, who thrived under Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, preferring to join Arsenal instead.

Hugo Ekitike is a relatively unknown quantity to most Premier League fans – having exclusively played in France and Germany at the age of 23, as well as a loan spell in Denmark with Vejle Boldklub – but Lionel Messi had a nickname for the Liverpool target at PSG which gives a strong indication about the type of striker he really is.