Hugo Ekitiké: The brightest of young talents | OneFootball

Frankfurt’s tall, quick and accurate new number 11 was born in the Champagne region of France and has already had the corks popping during his career to date in Ligue 1.

“I’ve been waiting to take this next step for a while now,” said Hugo Ekitiké in an interview with EintrachtTV on his arrival in Frankfurt on 1 February. He has finally made the switch from France to Germany, and as board member for sport Markus Krösche explained: “We already had our eye on him last summer and he’s been part of our thought process ever since.” Time for us, therefore, to take a closer look at our new recruit.

From young hopeful to first-team regular

Born in Reims, he started his footballing journey in the youth ranks with FC Cormontreuil – the local team in the municipality of the same name in the south-east of the city. At the age of 11, the big guns came calling and Ekitiké moved over to Stade de Reims, where he made his way up through the youth ranks and reserves into the Ligue 1 side for the team in red and white.

He made his debut as a centre forward in France’s top flight on 17 October 2020 against Lorient, under coach David Guion. Ekitiké was then named as a substitute on another four occasions before being loaned out to Vejle BK for six months. It took him a while to establish himself there, but he ended up making 11 appearances which featured three goals and two assists, helping the club to avoid relegation from Denmark’s top division.

From Reims to Paris and Les Bleus

On his return to Reims, Ekitiké made his big breakthrough. In the 2021/22 season, he played a total of 26 matches across all competitions and registered 11 goals and four assists, with 90 per cent of his goal contributions taking place inside the box. Ekitiké made a name for himself with his killer instinct, his dangerous runs and his clever positional play, earning him a detailed profile on the “Breaking The Lines” analysis portal in January 2022 entitled “The Diamond in the Youngest Team in Europe’s Big 5 Leagues”.

That was also the season when the 1.90-metre forward made his debut for the French U20 side, going on to make six appearances for them to date. He caught the eye of Paris Saint-Germain, who took him on loan for a year with an option to buy.

In his first year in the French capital, he got to cut his teeth alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, making 32 appearances in the league, the French Cup and the UEFA Champions League. By the end of the season he had four goals, four assists and a league-winner’s medal to his name, and it was not long before PSG made his signing a permanent one. In the first half of the following campaign, he struggled to establish himself under new coach Luis Enrique, with his action limited to a brief eight-minute cameo in one match.

Eintracht debut

Two days after crossing the border, Ektiké made his Eintracht debut away to Köln, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute. “I’m really happy and proud to be here,” the star striker said after the match. “I can’t wait to make the starting line-up. I want to entertain the fans.”

And all we have to say to that is: “Allez, Hugo Ekitiké!”