Liverpool welcomes £79 million rookie Hugo Ekitike, summer spending boom

(NLDO) - Liverpool successfully recruited French striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for 69 million pounds, with additional fees that could increase to 79 million pounds.

After a stellar season in the Bundesliga, Hugo Ekitike is the latest player from the German league to make the switch to the Premier League. Newcastle were thought to be leading the race for Ekitike's signature until Liverpool made a serious and successful pursuit of the 23-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt striker.

Liverpool spend big to get Hugo Ekitike

The French striker agreed to sign a six-year contract with Liverpool after passing a medical . Man United tried to jump into the race for Ekitike at the last minute, but failed. Ekitike himself expressed his disinterest in joining Man United when the "Red Devils" recruitment director Christopher Vivell contacted Frankfurt.

Hugo Ekitike officially joins Liverpool

Liverpool have been in contact with the French striker's representatives for the past 6 months while coach Arne Slot has also spoken directly with Etikite since the end of the 2024-2025 season. Liverpool are very cautious with this deal, willing to wait until the final stage, because Newcastle once offered 70 million pounds for the striker they wanted to bring in to play with Alexander Isak.

Reached 250 million pounds

Ekitike becomes Liverpool's fourth summer signing, bringing the total transfer spending to £250 million and could reach £300 million if add-ons and the Giorgi Mamardashvili deal (completed last summer) are included. Previously, the "Red Brigade" successfully recruited Florian Wirtz for a whopping £100 million, and also brought in two full-backs, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

Ekitike will be a positive solution for Liverpool's attack

Liverpool see Ekitike as a versatile striker. Although he primarily plays as a centre-forward (number 9), the Frenchman can also play deeper or on the wing. Last season, Ekitike scored 22 goals for Frankfurt, but Liverpool believe his impact is greater than the statistics and the Frenchman can absolutely explode even more in the future.

Ekitike ranked 6th in the Bundesliga top scorer list for the 2024-2025 season

Despite winning the Premier League title last season, manager Arne Slot and Liverpool have still gone to great lengths to strengthen their squad by signing Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong – the latter two also coming from the Bundesliga.

With Federico Chiesa making just six appearances in 2024-25, while Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz are both expected to leave this transfer window, coupled with the tragic death of Diogo Jota, another attacking option is needed to provide competition - and support - for Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/liverpool-don-tan-binh-79-trieu-bang-hugo-ekitike-bung-no-chi-tieu-mua-he-196250724073825595.htm