Chelsea place Frankfurt forward ‘very high’ on summer shortlist | OneFootball

Chelsea have placed Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike ‘very high’ on the club’s summer shortlist.

Enzo Maresca wants to bring in another centre-forward to provide competition and support for Nicolas Jackson. Chelsea have been linked with a number of options, including Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko and Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap.

Ekitike is a player the Blues admire and the 22-year-old has reportedly been place high on the club’s list of transfer targets.

The Frenchman has scored 22 goals in all competitions and provided a further 12 assists, while he ranks among Europe’s top forwards this season for progressive carries, successful take-ons and shot-creating actions per game.

He impressed in tandem with Omar Marmoush across the first half of the season, before leading the line following Marmoush’s January exit to Manchester City. Ekitike ranked fifth in the Bundesliga for goal contributions as Frankfurt secured Champions League qualification.

However, Ekitike is keen to leave Frankfurt, just a season after turning his loan from Paris Saint-Germain into a permanent deal. Frankfurt paid €16.5m last summer but will demand a fee in excess of €80m for Ekitike in the upcoming window.

Arsenal and Liverpool have also bee heavily linked, while PSG will be watching developments closely. The Ligue 1 champions have a 20% sell-on clause and will be entitled to a share of any profit that Frankfurt bank.

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