Newcastle pushed to sign the teenage forward on the final day of the transfer window and had a deal in place with French club Reims to take him to St James’ Park.
However, Ekitike declined the move to Newcastle, despite reportedly coming under pressure from sections of his family, who wanted him to move to England in the January window.
Karl Buchmann, the forward’s agent, opened up about the approach from Newcastle and insisted that eventually, Ekitike was not convinced about the project at St. James’ Park.
He claimed that the teenager did not see any vision of a long-term or medium-term plan for him from Newcastle.
Buchmann told French sports daily L’Equipe: “We were not convinced about the sports project and we saw no short or medium-term plan with their approach.
“Hugo has achieved great things in just six months but as he is attached to the club, we agreed with the leaders to end the season with Reims.”
West Ham were also interested in getting their hands on Ekitike in the recently concluded transfer window.
More clubs are expected to be in the fray for the striker when the window opens again in the summer.
