Liverpool are now poised to make an offer for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, with talks ongoing between the two clubs over a potential transfer.
Ekitike has emerged as the next high-profile target in a busy summer of signings for Liverpool, who are now focused on bringing in a new No. 9.
This Is Anfield understands there has been contact between Liverpool and Bundesliga side Frankfurt this week and it is now likely a bid will follow.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano claims an initial proposal has already been turned down with talks continuing, while French journalist Fabrice Hawkins reports that a six-year contract has been agreed.
This comes after Newcastle saw a £70 million offer for the 23-year-old rejected on Tuesday.
Liverpool have moved quickly to engage in conversations with Frankfurt while also scoping out a potential alternative deal for Newcastle‘s Alexander Isak.
Isak has been positioned as the club’s priority target but in the event of that move being blocked, Ekitike has been explored as their alternative.
It remains to be seen if Liverpool’s expected bid meets Frankfurt’s asking price, with it widely reported that they will be seeking a fee close to his €100 million (£86.6m) release clause.
Liverpool have already broken the British transfer record this summer to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, with that £116 million deal joining those for Milos Kerkez (£45m), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (£29m).
Goalkeepers Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman have also arrived from Puskas Akademia and Preston respectively, while four first-team players have already departed on permanent deals.
Any movement on Ekitike is likely to see Darwin Nunez edge closer to an exit, though interest from Napoli is believed to have cooled as they instead turn to Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca.
Nunez scored the second goal of Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Preston to kick off pre-season but is still attracting interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Ekitike joined Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain in February 2024, initially on loan before making his switch permanent for €16.5 million last summer.
The Frenchman scored 22 goals and laid on a further 12 assists in 48 games last season, with no striker aged 23 or under across Europe’s top five leagues scoring more in all competitions.
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