Manchester United have been informed that they can sign Liverpool and Chelsea target Hugo Ekitike in a ‘flexible deal’ as they look to reduce his fee.
United‘s summer priority is to overhaul their attack after they massively struggled to score goals last season. They only netted 28 goals from open play last season as they struggled to create chances and their forwards suffered a crisis of confidence.
Man Utd have also taken a step in the right direction with the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves for around £62.5m, and top target Bryan Mbeumo would be another upgrade in the No.10 position as they look to beat Spurs to secure his services.
The Red Devils are also crying out for a new striker as Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee only scored seven Premier League goals between them during the 2024/25 campaign.
United are known to be admirers of 2025 top scorer in Europe contender Viktor Gyokeres, but Eintracht Frankfurt star Ekitike has emerged as a potential alternative as the Frenchman is coming off a 22-goal campaign for the Bundesliga outfit.
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Liverpool and Chelsea are also interested in Ekitike, with Fabrizio Romano revealing the Premier League champions’ stance on signing him as a replacement for Darwin Nunez.
Romano said: “With Darwin leaving, Ekitike is a concrete target for Liverpool. Liverpool already spoke to the agents of the player at the end of May.
“Liverpool are in regular contact with people close to Hugo Ekitike, so for sure Ekitike remains a player on Liverpool’s list.
“I know there are rumours on several clubs for this kind of striker, but don’t forget Liverpool, because they are still there.”
Man Utd are also sniffing for Ekitike, with The Athletic reporting that they have made an ‘enquiry about his availability’.
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Frankfurt are said to be standing firm on their €100 million (£85m) asking price, but they are open to letting Ekitike leave in a ‘flexible deal’.
This boosts Man Utd’s chances of landing Ekitike as their summer spend will likely surpass £120m if/when they sign Mbeumo and a report from Caught Offside claims they are ‘considering’ a ‘swap deal’ and have ‘identified’ two players to offload to Frankfurt.
The report adds:
‘For now, Man Utd are yet to open formal talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over the talented young French striker, but they have been made aware of his €100m asking price. This is also true of Chelsea and Liverpool, who are also interested in Ekitike this summer, but for now nothing is at a particularly advanced stage with any club.
‘His €100m price tag is expected to be problematic, but United are internally discussing how to get that fee down. Sources have confirmed to CaughtOffside that a swap deal is not being ruled out, with United open to using Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee as part of their offer for Ekitike.’