Reims striker Hugo Ekitike turned Newcastle down because he was not 'convinced' by the Saudi project.

Toon had a £33m offer agreed with the Ligue 1 club on Deadline Day for the French wonderkid before the move fell through.

And his agent, Karl Buchmann, said: “We were not convinced about the sports project (at Newcastle) 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."

Ekitike is also on the radar of West Ham.