Hugo Ekitike joins Liverpool: Eintracht Frankfurt striker completes £79m switch to Premier League champions

Hugo Ekitike has signed for Liverpool in a deal value £79m (€91.5m) from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Liverpool can pay an preliminary charge of £69m (€80m) plus £10m (€12.5m) in add-ons for the striker as their summer time spending edges in the direction of £300m.

Much like the Florian Wirtz deal, the vast majority of the bonuses in Ekitike’s transfer are tied to Liverpool’s trophy success and the participant making a major contribution.

Liverpool made their transfer for Ekitike final week after being informed Newcastle striker Alexander Isak will not be on the market. Newcastle had a club-record provide of £70m for Ekitike rejected by Frankfurt.

Sky Sports activities Information has been informed that Liverpool have been snug with Newcastle making the primary transfer, as they knew Frankfurt have been on the lookout for a bidding battle – so the Reds stayed away.

As soon as Newcastle have been near an settlement, Liverpool entered negotiations, just like how they signed Luis Diaz from Porto when Tottenham Hotspur have been near doing a deal in January 2022.

One supply claims Manchester United made a last-ditch try and swoop for Ekitike, however the participant had his coronary heart set on Liverpool.

The 23-year-old was an unused substitute throughout his aspect’s pre-season sport in opposition to FSV Frankfurt on July 19 and after the sport, Frankfurt boss, quoted by Sky Germany, stated Ekitike’s departure is “a bitter loss”.

Ekitike scored 22 objectives in 48 video games throughout all competitions final season for Frankfurt as he helped them qualify for the Champions League.

Liverpool see him as a multi-functional centre ahead who primarily performs as a No 9 however can even drop right into a second striker position, or function huge.

The membership believes Ekitike has the potential to grow to be among the finest strikers on the earth if he continues on this trajectory.

Liverpool at the moment are the league’s greatest spenders – however how?

Liverpool at the moment are the Premier League’s greatest spenders, with their summer time spree now verging on £300m.

The £79m deal for Hugo Ekitike has taken Liverpool’s spending to £295.5m, which is over £75m greater than the following greatest spenders in Chelsea.

Liverpool have even spent greater than Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal mixed – the third and fourth greatest spenders – to date.

Tottenham are the fourth greatest spenders with £110.7m spent, simply above newly-promoted Sunderland who’ve spent £107m already.

However how can Liverpool afford Ekitike having already spent a club-record charge to carry Florian Wirtz to Anfield earlier this summer time?

Effectively, the membership’s monetary data indicated they may probably lose an extra £200m this summer time and nonetheless be compliant with Revenue & Sustainability Guidelines (PSR) – the place golf equipment are permitted to lose £105m over a three-year interval.

In response to soccer finance professional Swiss Ramble, the Reds’ most up-to-date monetary outcomes confirmed Liverpool have really made £48m within the present three-year PSR interval, partly as a consequence of modest current switch spend.

Which means Liverpool can lose an extra £158m and nonetheless be compliant subsequent summer time.

And whereas Liverpool have already spent round £185m on new gamers within the present window – together with a charge of as much as £116m for Wirtz – the Reds posted a membership report income of £613.8m for the 2023-24 season, partly as a consequence of industrial success.

That determine will solely enhance on the 2024-25 season accounts given Liverpool added Champions League soccer, knockout qualification for that match and in addition grew to become Premier League champions.

Academy product Jarell Quansah has already joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m deal that represents 100 per cent revenue underneath PSR guidelines, and the Reds may additional increase gross sales figures by the tip of the summer time.

And earlier in the summertime, Brentford signed backup Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for an preliminary £12.5m.

Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Luiz Diaz are all additional potential departures, though a Diaz exit is at present much less seemingly regardless of Bayern Munich’s makes an attempt to prise him away.

What have Liverpool seen within the ahead at Frankfurt?

Ekitike is a multi-functional centre-forward who can function as a No.9 however has the flexibility to fulfil different roles too. As such, Liverpool really feel they’re signing a high-performing participant who’s able to justifying this price ticket – and with large potential to enhance.

A lot has been product of the similarity between the French ahead and Isak, the Newcastle striker who would have been many golf equipment’ prime goal this summer time had it not been for the prohibitive prices of the deal. Ekitike matches up on many metrics.

In reality, the numbers recommend that he brings others into play much more, a crew participant who makes clever runs with and with out the ball. Ekitike can stretch defences by attacking the house in behind on transition however can be artistic working in tight areas.

Critics may level to Isak’s superior scoring report – Ekitike registered 15 objectives within the Bundesliga final season – however Liverpool could effectively regard the underlying numbers as extra encouraging and proof that Ekitike may even be undervalued within the present market.

Information consultants would take the view that Ekitike’s expected-goals determine, which was among the many highest within the Bundesliga final season, proves that he’s a participant whose physicality and clever motion sees him arrive in good conditions time and time once more.

Such numbers are inclined to regress to the imply. The membership would like to put money into a participant whose numbers are prone to development upwards. If Ekitike can do this then – even at an preliminary worth of £69m – Liverpool may come to see their funding in him as a discount.

Ekitike prepared for the following step after Bundesliga breakthrough

Sky Sports activities’ Adam Bate:

When Hugo Ekitike was nonetheless an adolescent at Stade Reims, the teaching employees ready a improvement plan for him. They analysed the performances of Kylian Mbappe after which picked out two extra gamers that Ekitike may realistically aspire to copy.

“These were players with similar profiles from teams that were better than our team, but not at the distance Paris Saint-Germain were from us,” Oscar Garcia, Reims’ then head coach, informed Sky Sports activities. “We challenged him to reach the level of the other two strikers.”

On the face of it, that was a superbly cheap short-term goal. Previous to his remaining season at Reims, Ekitike had not even scored a aim in France’s prime tier. He had spent the second half of the earlier marketing campaign on mortgage at Danish membership Vejle Boldklub.

He returned to Reims because the fourth-choice ahead however quickly compelled Oscar to reassess. Quickly after that, the 2 strikers whose degree he had been inspired to hit have been now not in his sights. “Within months, he wanted to reach the same level as Mbappe.”

It’s a story that provides a glimpse into the mindset of the Eintracht Frankfurt ahead who has lengthy been linked with a transfer to the Premier League.

“He always was a talented player but some coaches did not like him because of his profile and sometimes because of his character,” concedes Oscar. “They were thinking he was a little bit arrogant. He always wanted to be compared with the best ones.”

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