According to Sky Sports in Germany, Newcastle has entered into substantive negotiations with Ekitic's team and is currently working to reach a verbal agreement. A new round of talks will be held on site today.

Desky said Newcastle is ready to meet the overall quotation requirements proposed by Frankfurt, but no formal negotiations have been held between the two clubs and no written quotation has been submitted. Frankfurt has been informed of clear interest on Newcastle. The competition for Ekitic is very fierce, and Liverpool and Manchester United are also competing for the player.