PSG’s Hugo Ekitike the subject of a tug-of-war between France and Cameroon

Despite being frozen out at club level, Paris Saint-Germain forward Hugo Ekitiké is the subject of a tug-of-war at international level, with Samuel Eto’o making contact with the former Stade de Reims forward, according to RMC Sport.

PSG attempted to use Ekitiké as a bargaining chip in the deal to bring Randal Kolo Muani to the Parc des Princes. However, the France youth international refused to make the move in the opposite direction to Eintracht Frankfurt. Whilst Kolo Muani did ultimately join in the final moments of the summer window, PSG were furious with Ekitiké, whose decision almost made the deal collapse. Since his refusal to move to the Bundesliga, the Frenchman has been dropped, and he is no longer in the first-team picture, nor is he expected to be in the short and medium term. His long-term future also seems to lie away from the Parc des Princes.

Hubert Fournier, the technical director of the FFF has said that he is “saddened” by Ekitiké’s situation at club level. He added, “In terms of game time, he is below what we would hope and the fact that he is not playing has an impact on his progression.” RMC Sport report that France U21 manager Thierry Henry has called Ekitiké to inform him that he is still being followed, which has relieved the PSG forward, who is lacking support.

However, the president of the Cameroon Federation, Eto’o, has also contacted Ekitiké recently, in the hope that he will commit his international future to the African side.