According to reports, Manchester United have taken a step to move ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike.
Ekitike has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League since breaking onto the scene at Ligue Un outfit Reims during the 20221/22 campaign.
The 22-year-old reportedly rejected a move to Newcastle United before he joined PSG during the 2022 summer transfer window and he could regret this decision as his spell at the Ligue Un giants never got off the ground.
The France U21 international has spent the last 18 months at Bundesliga outfit Frankfurt and he’s benefited from this fresh start, scoring 22 goals in all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign.
Ekitike’s return to form has him on the radar of Premier League clubs, with Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool among the teams interested in him.
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Man Utd desperately need an upgrade on Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee as they have been toothless in attack under head coach Ruben Amorim.
2025 top scorer in Europe contenders Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen have been mooted as targets, but Ekitike is an alternative and United have made a move to sign the Frankfurt star, who is reportedly valued at around £85m (100 million euros).
German journalist Florian Plettenberg revealed on Sunday evening that the Red Devils ‘made contact with the management of Ekitike over the weekend’ to ‘express concrete interest’ in the forward.
‘No decision has been made’ with Liverpool and Chelsea ‘still in the race’, but Man Utd ‘are so far the only club to have made direct contact with Frankfurt’. At the time of writing, the other two Big Six clubs have only held ‘concrete’ talks with the player’s representatives.
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Plettenberg has also pointed out an advantage for Man Utd over their Premier League rivals, with Ekitike admitting last year that they were his “favourite club as a child”.
Ekitike said: “My favourite club as a child was Manchester United. I’ve always admired them.”
BILD’s Eintracht Frankfurt reporter Johannes Wolf recently explained why he thinks Ekitike should be targeted over alternatives by Premier League clubs.
“They did it with the Randal Kolo Muani transfer and no one expected them to go so hard on PSG until the last second, I think that helps them now,” Wolff said.
“The understanding within the business is Ekitike is a better striker than Kolo Muani was and if he got you €95m, they’re trying to get the €100m. If they do?
“We’ll see, if you ask me, I think they will come at least very close or get it with the bonus structure.
“Marmoush went to €82m to Man City, when he was 22 – just like Ekitike is now – he was playing in the second division in Germany.
“Now, Ekitike has great numbers with Frankfurt in almost every competition.
“It’s a high fee, but it’s not completely unreasonable, especially when you look at the potential – especially with what’s available.
“If you ask me, he’s the biggest prize after Isak on the market this year, I see him as better than [Benjamin] Sesko, some people have question marks over [Viktor] Gyokeres, so I can see why Frankfurt ask for a fee of €100m.”