Manchester United’s search for a striker this summer has led Ineos to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.
As always, in-form strikers have been hot property in the summer transfer window and so far Ineos have not had the market go their way.
Firstly, Ineos missed out on £30m Liam Delap after he chose to join Chelsea instead of making the move to Old Trafford. Now, reports suggest Ruben Amorim-favourite Viktor Gyokeres prefers a move to Arsenal rather than reuniting with his former boss.
Amorim will need a new striker to arrive for the 2025/26 campaign and now reports suggest United have “accelerated” talks for Hugo Ekitike after his strong season in Germany.
A move for Ekitike comes with plenty of risk given his age and inexperience, but his stats in the Bundesliga are undeniably impressive.
Hugo Ekitike in action for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Hugo Ekitike dominated Harry Kane and Florian Wirtz at shooting
Last season, Rasmus Hojlund was terribly disappointing in front of goal, with his poor performances costing United valuable points throughout the campaign.
One of Hojlund’s biggest criticisms was that he was not taking enough touches of the ball and was not getting as involved in play as he should be. Throughout the 2024/25 season, Hojlund only took 32 shots, with 13 on target and four goals.
In comparison, Ekitike took a staggering 115 shots for Frankfurt last season. It ranks him at the very top of the Bundesliga, above Harry Kane and new Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz.
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Former United target Kane managed 110 shots for Bayern Munich, while Wirtz took 78 shots at Leverkusen.
Ekitike ended the season with 15 Bundesliga goals and 22 across all competitions. His involvement in attacking plays at Frankfurt will please Amorim given Hojlund’s frustrating trend to become isolated.
Hugo Ekitike still has plenty of improvement ahead
Unlike United’s other striker targets such as Victor Osimhen or Gyokeres, Ekitike would arrive as a younger and inexperienced option.
While Ekitike does have experience at Paris Saint-Germain and now Frankfurt, he is still just 22 years old and United have seen other strikers crumble under the pressure of being first-choice at Old Trafford.
His stats from Germany are promising and suggest he would be involved in play far more than the likes of Hojlund, but at the same time it will raise concerns about his conversion rate.
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Amorim urged United’s forwards to be “clinical” last season after seeing several chances wasted. Ekitike’s ratio of 115 shots into just 15 goals will be worrying.
With plenty of time for the player to develop, Ekitike could yet turn into a goal machine given how often he finds himself in a shooting position, but being wasteful could cost United valuable points.