In what has been arguably the best summer transfer window for Liverpool since 2018, when the club splashed over £150 million on the likes’ of Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Naby Keita and others, the Reds’ are now close to adding Hugo Ekitike for £69 million plus a possible £10 million in add-ons.
A number nine was seen as a priority for the club at the start of the summer, with Darwin Nunez seemingly surplus to requirements – the tragic passing of Diogo Jota made bringing an attacker in somewhat more urgent.
The Reds reportedly considered a number of options before settling on Ekitike, including both Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gykores who have both been linked to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Following Newcastle United’s bid for Ekitike last week, this spurred Anfield chiefs into action, with the Reds agreeing a fee with Frankfurt.
What Will Ekitike Bring?
Having drawn comparisons to compatriot, Thierry Henry, Liverpool fans have a lot to be excited about. At 23, he fits the age bracket of the type of signing that manager Arne Slot appears to be basing his summer transfer window around.
He has shades of Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak about him as well (who was the Reds’ dream target, though seemingly unattainable). Ekitike is one of the most promising in his position in Europe and his goal return last season was impressive as he helped to steer Frankfurt to a third-placed finish in the Bundesliga.
With 15 goals and six assists in 33 league games last term, this is just a glimmer of what Reds’ fans can expect. With Mohamed Salah on one side of him and likely to be a top-class replacement for Luis Diaz on the other, plus Florian Wirtz in behind, he will form one-quarter of what could be the best attack in Europe.
There are also some traits of Samuel Eto’o about him as well – very mobile, fast, can drop deep if needed and form attacking combinations but also lethal in front of goal. With Wirtz behind him, this could make for a very potent partnership.
More To Follow For Liverpool?
Having already brought in Wirtz plus full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, Ekitike’s imminent arrival will take the club’s spending to nearly £300 million but they’re not stopping there.
With Diaz looking likely to join Bayern Munich and Jarrell Quansah having moved to Bayer Leverkusen, the Reds will need at least another attacker, while a centre-back appears to also be a priority.
The club haven’t, it seems, given up hope of landing Marc Guehi from Crystal Palalce so it could well be an interesting couple of weeks at Anfield.
