- The president of Stade de Reims, Jean-Pierre Caillot, has returned to the subject of Hugo Ekitike’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. He explained why his club decided to loan out the young striker, even though he could have made a lot of money immediately.
Hugo Ekitike, who had a very interesting first season in Ligue 1 (10 goals and 4 assists in 24 games), has made Paris Saint-Germain fall for him this summer. The 20-year-old striker convinced the capital club to join the battle with numerous suitors and complete his arrival on loan with a compulsory purchase option (€36m).
Caillot explains the deal with PSG
Last summer, this operation surprised many. Despite the interest of several foreign clubs, as well as an offer from Newcastle valued at 41 million euros, Stade de Reims had agreed to part with its best offensive weapon without receiving a large sum of money immediately. The club’s president Jean-Pierre Caillot told RMC why he agreed to the deal with Paris SG
” We have just made our tenth positive year, which is not very common in football,” he says. As we were already well on track this year, it suited us to make this arrangement. And it suited Paris Saint-Germain, as you know that there is financial fair play, to make a loan with a compulsory purchase option. Clearly, everyone is satisfied with this operation from a financial point of view: Reims has secured significant revenue for the next financial year (which the club did not need for the current financial year), and PSG avoids increasing its deficit this season.
Ekitike is “of the calibre of very great players”.
PSG are now expecting more from an element that will cost them €36m next summer. Ekitike is having a difficult time adapting to the French champions, with whom he has yet to score a goal in 11 appearances in all competitions. But his former president in Champagne is not worried.
“There is no doubt about it,” reassured Caillot. We know how good Campos is at spotting players, and he’s been following Ekitike for a long time. It’s not easy to go from Reims to PSG, the dressing room and the environment are different. But he is a boy who has always performed well. (…) He’s of the calibre of very great players. For now, Ekitike still has a long way to go to become a great PSG player.
