Sky Sports bombshell: Major twist sees United ‘officially enter the race’ for €100m Chelsea and LFC target

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·12 juin 2025

Sky Sports bombshell: Major twist sees United ‘officially enter the race’ for €100m Chelsea and LFC target

Manchester United have emerged as surprise contenders in the race for hotly pursued Eintracht Frankfurt starlet Hugo Ekitike.

The transfer bombshell comes courtesy of Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg this evening, who has confirmed that the Red Devils have ‘officially entered the race’ for the forward after several days of Chelsea and Liverpool vying for his signature.

Vidéos OneFootball

Clubs will have to wait until Monday, June 16, to officially sanction any further deals when the window reopens, with Liverpool now in the process of finalising Florian Wirtz’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.

🚨🔴 EXCL | Manchester United have now officially entered the race for Hugo #Ekitike! #MUFC made contact with Eintracht Frankfurt within the last 48 hours, expressed concrete interest, and gathered all relevant information. Liverpool and Chelsea remain in the race – and now Man
– jeudi 12 juin 2025

Hugo Ekitike has his pick of suitors if he opts for Premier League switch

The young French prospect started his career with Reims before signing for PSG permanently in 2023. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

It’s widely expected that Ekitike will be on the move this summer after informing Frankfurt last month of his desire to embark on a new venture. Where he ends up, however, is the question on everyone’s lips.

Alas, Frankfurt have essentially been backed into a corner to facilitate his wishes much sooner than they’d envisioned, having only made him a permanent member of the squad in April 2024 when activating his buy clause set by Paris Saint-Germain, where he only ever played a reduced role.

In the 48 appearances Ekitike made throughout 2024/2025, he recorded a hugely impressive 22 goals and 12 assists, making it a career-best campaign for the 22-year-old. As a result, the Bundesliga outfit are demanding €100 million (£85m) to sign off on his transfer in the coming months.

United’s transfer business thus far: The state of play

United have already forked out a substantial fee to trigger Matheus Cunha’s £62.5m release clause, although they paid a lump sum up front and will pay the remaining amount in instalments across two years.

The club are locked in negotiations to try and sign Bryan Mbeumo, but after having their opening offer of £45m plus £10m in add-ons rebuffed by Brentford, Ekitike may just take priority if it looks as though a deal can come to fruition.