David Ornstein drops afternoon transfer bombshell as Liverpool ramp up centre-forward pursuit | OneFootball

Liverpool’s search for a new centre-forward this summer appears to have taken a fresh twist, following a report from David Ornstein on Wednesday afternoon.

The Athletic’s football correspondent revealed yesterday that the Reds made an approach to Newcastle for Alexander Isak, with Empire of the Kop subsequently reporting that the Premier League champions are prepared to offer the Swedish marksman a six-year contract.

However, there’s another positional alternative who’s demonstrably in Richard Hughes’ sights, one which could also have a bearing on the Magpies.

Liverpool make contact over possible Ekitike transfer

According to Ornstein for The Athletic today, Liverpool have contacted Eintracht Frankfurt over a possible move for Hugo Ekitike, who’s also being targeted by the Tyneside club.

Newcastle have had an offer of around £65m rejected by the Bundesliga side, who’ve now received an approach from Anfield for the French centre-forward.

The report adds that the Reds’ main focus in the transfer window is to add a striker, with the club open to offers for Darwin Nunez amid an apparent desire from Luis Diaz to leave Merseyside.

Ornstein mentioned that, while sensitivities around Liverpool ‘remain understandably high’ following Diogo Jota’s tragic death 13 days ago, ‘there is an awareness’ that further additions are needed this summer.

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Isak is the dream, but Ekitike would also be a tremendous coup

Isak might be the Reds’ primary centre-forward target, but the sudden approach for Ekitike shows that not all of our eggs are being put in a single basket.

Between the approach for their leading marksman and the attempted move for the Eintracht Frankfurt marksman, Newcastle must be cursing the Premier League champions in this transfer window.

Although the Swede would appear to be Plan A, the concurrent pursuit of the 23-year-old suggests that Hughes is prepared for the possibility of not being able to entice the Magpies to sell their number 14.

The Athletic‘s Andy Jones has proclaimed Ekitike as fitting ‘exactly the profile Liverpool look to target – a player with first-team experience’ who also ‘possesses a lot of traits that can be moulded into making him an elite striker’.

The journalist added that the Frenchman offers ‘a threat on the box’ and is renowned for his ‘clever moment’ and ‘ball-carrying attributes’. Those appraisals are underlined by a return of 22 goals last season, along with a match average of 3.04 progressive carries, placing him in the top 4% of strikers among Europe’s five main leagues for that particular metric (FBref).

If the Reds are priced out of a move for the £120m-valued Isak, the Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward would be a more than adequate alternative to pursue, and one who’d likely be more affordable than his Swedish counterpart.