Inside Liverpool’s €90m pursuit of Hugo Ekitiké | OneFootball

Liverpool are on the verge of signing Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward Hugo Ekitiké (23) in a €90m deal. L’Equipe has written a feature on how the Premier League champions have fended off competition from Newcastle United, Chelsea and Manchester United to land the promising France U23 international.

The feature reports that, in a previous interview with the outlet, Ekitiké revealed he was exchanging with 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who Ekitiké sees as a role model. “I said to myself that if I had the season I wanted, I could tell him (Benzema) that I did what we said I would do.“

For his first complete season with Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitiké rose to stardom with a remarkable return of 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 appearances. Such an output has reportedly not surprised Liverpool. Like several major European clubs, the Reds have been monitoring the Reims Academy product for a while.

During spring, when Liverpool laid out their plans for what would become a massive transfer spree in the summer, Ekitiké’s name popped up, labeled by Sporting Director Richard Hughes as the Reds’ second priority signing for the No. 9 spot, behind Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. In March, Liverpool reportedly made contact again with Ekitiké’s entourage, after previously making their interest known during the player’s breakout season for Reims.

How Arne Slot convinced Hugo Ekitiké of joining Liverpool

Liverpool’s deal-makers, which include Hughes, Assistant Sporting Director David Woodfine and Chief Scout Barry Hunter, then ramped up talks with Ekitiké’s agent in May when, in parallel, the trail leading to Isak seemed to fade. Meanwhile, Chelsea were still a serious contender for the France U23 international, but the Blues’ charm offensive didn’t work. As for Newcastle, who courted Ekitiké before his move to PSG, they threw their hat into the ring and planned to partner up the France U21 international with Isak.

To convince Ekitiké to reject a move to St. James’ Park in favour of Anfield, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot took centre stage. During a video call, the Dutchman introduced Ekitiké to his vision of a 4-2-3-1 and to an evolution of the Reds’ game plan, which includes more possession sequences that require a creative, mobile, versatile and multi-tasking No. 9.

Ekitiké is now enticed by the prospect of joining the Premier League champions and he decided to wait for Liverpool, whilst the Reds signed Florian Wirtz, seen as the central piece of Arne Slot’s 2.0 title-winning team. The tragic passing of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota logically slowed the process down to allow the club a period of mourning before embarking on major signings.

Ten days ago, Liverpool proceeded to act, retaliating against Newcastle’s opening bid to Eintracht Frankfurt. It reportedly only took 48 hours for the Reds to wrap up a personal agreement with Ekitiké over a six-year contract. When Liverpool’s arch-rivals, Manchester United, entered the race, it was already too late. Ekitiké made up his mind about joining Liverpool long ago.

The Frenchman then asked Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sporting Director, Markus Krösche, to enter into exclusive club-to-club talks with the Reds. The Premier League giants may not even be done in the summer transfer window. As they reported on Sunday, L’Equipe confirms that Real Madrid winger Rodrygo is the priority candidate to replace Bayern Munich target Luis Diaz.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval