Frankfurt not ruling out Hugo Ekitike decision after Liverpool transfer talks | OneFootball

Liverpool’s search for a new striker has yet to seriously evolve in the summer window.

The Reds’ efforts, of course, appear to be focused on negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz.

Otherwise there has been little in the way of updates to suggest they’ll be escalating interest in Hugo Ekitike shortly.

Do Liverpool still have an opportunity to sign Hugo Ekitike?

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Liverpool are looking to revamp a forward line that saw the wide areas (particularly Mo Salah) do some heavy lifting.

Our Egyptian King registered 29 goals in the Premier League alone – a figure that accounts for 33.7% of our total league goals scored (86) in the 2024/25 season. The numbers coming centrally are far from being quite as impressive.

* Stats drawn from 2024/25 Premier League campaign

Don’t get us wrong. This is a team built to maximise Salah’s remarkable goalscoring and creative capabilities. However, we can’t really put our full support behind strikers that are struggling to breach the 10-goal mark in the Premier League (even accounting for a disparity in minutes).

Step forward, Hugo Ekitike. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg now reports on X (formerly Twitter) that Chelsea are engaging in ‘further talks’ over the Frenchman. This corroborates Christian Falk’s prior reporting on Ekitike, suggesting that the Blues hold the advantage.

However, Eintracht Frankfurt have yet to receive an official offer, despite not ruling out a potential exit. Interesting.

Darwin Nunez sale looks inevitable

Liverpool have done a fantastic job of managing finances in recent years. But even our sizeable warchest is sure to take a big hit should we manage to get Florian Wirtz over the line.

Either way, we’ve no doubt the club will be keen to clear out some deadwood in the name of sustainability and reinvestment.

Who better to stick a potential figure in excess of £50m (we would assume for Darwin Nunez) than Hugo Ekitike?

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a superb season in the Bundesliga, and that’s despite seriously underperforming his xG total in 2024/25.

Compared to Nunez, and taking into account a serious disparity in minutes, we can see how the Frankfurt forward could offer a notable improvement on goal threat.

* Stats courtesy of Sofascore

Even a comparison with a more stylistically similar player in Diogo Jota doesn’t do the German top-flight star any harm.

The key thing to point out here as well is the possibility of scaling the No.11’s numbers at Anfield. These aren’t unsustainable numbers and, critically, he’s not overperforming ahead of a potential summer move.

Talks have, reportedly, taken place with Liverpool’s hierarchy over Ekitike’s future. So perhaps this is one to at least keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

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