Manchester United have reportedly joined Liverpool and Chelsea in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike, as per German football expert Florian Plettenberg.
The 22-year-old has been attracting a lot of attention, having enjoyed a productive campaign last term. In 48 appearances in all competitions, the Frenchman scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists. Moreover, he guided his team to qualify for the Champions League by finishing in the top four.
Writing on X, Plettenberg says that Liverpool and Chelsea have already expressed their interest in signing him, having been impressed by his recent eye-catching displays.
However, Man Utd have now ‘officially’ entered the race by registering ‘concrete interest’ to get the deal done. They have made contact to gather information about the details of signing Ekitike and have been made aware that the forward is available for around £84m.
Plettenberg wrote:
“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 United are in as well. Price tag: €100m.”
Battle
Liverpool have been busy reinforcing the squad this summer and are said to be willing to hire a new centre-forward as a potential replacement for Darwin Núñez.
On the other hand, Chelsea currently have Nicolas Jackson as the first-choice striker option, but Enzo Maresca is planning to upgrade this position in this window.
On the other hand, Man Utd struggled with goal-scoring issues last term, so they want to address this problem by signing a new No.9. Several strikers have been linked with a move to Old Trafford, including Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres, but Ekitike is now emerging as a new serious option.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star is quick, technically sound, can dribble past opposition defenders in tight areas, and has an eye for scoring goals from distance.
He is a highly talented player and possesses the potential to become a world-class striker in the future. Therefore, Ekitike would be a great coup for Man Utd, Liverpool, or Chelsea should any of those clubs eventually manage to secure his service in this transfer window.