Liverpool are gravitating towards a striker who stole the show in a recent Tottenham game and a report claims an £80m bid ‘will be accepted.’
Liverpool are gearing up for a historic summer window having signed just one outfield player (Federico Chiesa) over the last three windows. Assuming Trent Alexander-Arnold joins Real Madrid – which remains the expectation – additions will be sought at right-back, centre-back, left-back, central midfield and striker.
The latter position is under the microscope amid a continued inability to rely on Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan is far too inconsistent for a team aiming to win multiple trophies each year and per Fabrizio Romano, a transfer – most likely to Saudi Arabia – is on the cards.
Liverpool have looked into signing Newcastle’s Alexander Isak but like Arsenal, are quickly realising a deal is unattainable.
Newcastle value their talismanic striker at £150m, a sum that would obliterate the Premier League’s all-time transfer record (£115m – Moises Caicedo from Brighton to Chelsea).
Furthermore, Eddie Howe has ordered the board not to sell even if record-breaking bids arrive, and there is little appetite from Isak to leave if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League anyway.
As such, both Liverpool and Arsenal are pivoting to alternative options and TEAMtalk brought news of the Reds ramping up their interest in Hugo Ekitike last week.
The Eintracht Frankfurt ace, 22, has enjoyed a breakthrough season in Germany, notching 30 goal contributions (21 goals, nine assists) so far.
Ekitike dazzled in the first leg of Frankfurt’s Europa League quarter-final clash with Tottenham last week, scoring the opener following a mazy fun and powerful low strike.
We revealed Liverpool had scouts in attendance for that match and planned to observe Ekitike in the return leg in Germany too.
Now, a fresh update from Caught Offside has confirmed our reporting on Liverpool’s scouting mission along with stating the Reds are ‘increasingly leaning towards’ Ekitike as their striker signing.
Liverpool are understood to be ‘seriously considering’ a move, while a separate update from Football Insider has shed light on the cost.
£80m for Hugo Ekitike
They claimed Frankfurt will demand top dollar having just sold Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January.
The club aren’t totally against losing their two best forwards in consecutive windows, however, so long as they generate gigantic profits.
To that end, it’s claimed Liverpool have been informed a bid of £80m ‘will be accepted’ if tabled for Ekitike.
An £80m deal would make Ekitike Liverpool’s second most expensive signing of all time behind Nunez. However, the Nunez fee would only be higher if the vast bulk of add-ons in his agreement were paid.
Nunez cost an initial £64m to sign from Benfica, with the final fee rising to £86m through add-ons.
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TIMELINE: The rise of Hugo Ekitike
By Samuel Bannister
July 12, 2020: Signs his first professional contract with Reims after developing in the academy and playing for the B team.
October 17, 2020: Makes his first-team debut for Reims in a Ligue 1 loss to Lorient.
January 29, 2021: Moves on loan for the rest of the season to Vejle Boldklub in the Danish Superliga, where he goes on to score three goals in 11 games.
September 12, 2021: Scores his first senior goal for Reims in a win over Rennes.
January 31, 2022: Turns down a move to Newcastle United despite Reims accepting a bid by the Premier League side.
May 21, 2022: Closes out the season by scoring his 10th goal of the campaign for Reims.
July 16, 2022: Joins Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy, after a total of 11 goals in 26 games for Reims.
August 6, 2022: Comes on against Clermont to make his PSG debut.
October 1, 2022: Makes his first start for PSG in a win over Nice.
October 11, 2022: Plays in the Champions League for the first time, appearing as a substitute against Benfica.
November 13, 2022: Scores his first goal for PSG against Auxerre.
May 27, 2023: Becomes a Ligue 1 champion with PSG.
February 1, 2024: Moves to Eintracht Frankfurt on loan with an option to buy, after only playing once for PSG in the first half of the season.
February 3, 2024: Makes his Eintracht debut as a substitute against FC Koln.
April 19, 2024: Scores his first goal for Eintracht in a win against Augsburg, starting a run of three consecutive Bundesliga apps with a goal.
April 26, 2024: Makes his move to Frankfurt permanent, thus ending his PSG career for good with just four goals from 33 games behind him.
August 19, 2024: Marks his first appearance of the new season with a brace in the cup against Eintracht Braunschweig.
September 26, 2024: Scores his first European goal in a Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen, also providing an assist and matching his goal tally already from the previous season.
December 1, 2024: Reaches double figures of goals for the season within 18 games.
January 26, 2025: Extends his scoring streak to four games in a row with a brace against Hoffenheim.
March 21, 2025: Scores a hat-trick against England’s U21s for France U21.
April 10, 2025: Reaches the tally of 20 goals in all competitions for the 2024-25 season by scoring against Spurs.
In their first attack of the game, Frankfurt take the lead over Spurs thanks to Ekitike 😮💨
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/gBbX3tadbe
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 10, 2025
