Huge afternoon update on Liverpool transfer amid positive negotiations for Hugo Ekitike

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·19 luglio 2025

Huge afternoon update on Liverpool transfer amid positive negotiations for Hugo Ekitike

Hugo Ekitike is ‘getting closer’ to a Liverpool transfer in the summer window.

The Merseysiders are hellbent on bolstering the forward line this summer – in particular, with a central attacker.

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Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak was understood to be the recruitment team’s ideal target. However, with the Magpies holding firm on their “not for sale” stance, the Reds seem prepared to consider their next best option.

Liverpool could seal Hugo Ekitike transfer shortly

(Photo by Markus Gilliar/Getty Images)

Fabrice Hawkins originally shared details of Liverpool’s six-year agreement being lined up for Ekitike’s potentially impending arrival.

Now, it seems like the deal could soon reach an advanced stage following the journalist’s latest update on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday afternoon.

The Eintracht Frankfurt man is reportedly set to stay rooted to the bench for the club’s upcoming pre-season friendly against FSV Frankfurt.

🚨 Hugo Ekitike is getting closer to Liverpool. The plan is clear for the friendly against FSV Francfort : he stays on the bench. Negociations ongoing with final green light expected soon. Personal terms already agreed as revealed. Contract until 2031.
– sabato 19 luglio 2025

What makes Ekitike such an attractive transfer for the Premier League?

It goes without saying that Newcastle were thought to be seriously interested in the Frenchman’s services.

Likewise, fellow Premier League rivals in Manchester United have also been credited with some interest in prior reporting.

With us being in clear need of fresh ideas in attack, however, it was always clear that Liverpool would stand a good chance of beating out competition for Hugo Ekitike. That said, we can forgive fans for questioning whether the 23-year-old striker is worth every penny of his potential £86.7m price tag.

* Hugo Ekitike’s stats from the 2024/25 campaign (all competitions), via Transfermarkt

We’ve gone over the output a million or so times – the numbers are far from being poor. In fact, they’re pretty excellent when compared to the goal contribution per 90 rates of his potential new attacking teammates.

* Hugo Ekitike and Liverpool forward stats from the 2024/25 campaign (all competitions), via Transfermarkt

He knows how to stick in the back of the net, and he’s a creative presence. But Ekitike isn’t just going to hang around inside the 18-yard-box waiting for someone else to serve up an opportunity to him on a silver platter.

The Frenchman’s additional key value will be in his willingness to drop deep and contribute to build-up. Just take a look at his comparative heatmap to Darwin Nunez’s last term (via Sofascore).

(Images courtesy of Sofascore)

Our No.9 has, of course, played considerably fewer minutes (1,137) in the Premier League in 2024/25 to Hugo Ekitike’s 2,578 in the Bundesliga.

But you can get a decent impression of what Arne Slot was trying to achieve with Nunez, and what he’ll be looking to benefit from with his potential next summer signing.

Our Dutch head coach wants goals, sure, but he’s not after a pure goalscorer in the narrow sense of the word.

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