Manchester United have zeroed in on Hugo Ekitike as their striker target after striking out on Liam Delap and others, but the real lesson they should try to replicate fits the Ineos blueprint.
Hugo Ekitike is largely unproven at the top level except for the 2024/25 season, so Frankfurt’s asking price is questionable, to say the least.
Add to that the dreaded Frankfurt striker’s curse, and it’s tempting to say that there’s much better use of United’s resources than spending it on a 22-year-old striker with one good season under his belt.
Coincidentally, that better use of money can be learned from Ekitike himself. They only need to look at what his current team did.
Georges Mikautadze of Lyon runs with the ball during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Olympique Lyonnais and Fotbal Club FCSB
Photo by Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
The £16m Hugo Ekitike lesson for Man Utd
It is impossible to look at Hugo Ekitike’s 2024/25 season and think that he was close to being written off as a player with elite potential.
After his breakthrough at Reims had the world at his feet, the move to PSG came too soon for him, where he took a huge step back.
Fortunately for him, the next team to take a punt on him, only on loan, was Eintracht Frankfurt, a club that is famous for rehabbing striker’s careers.
Frankfurt paid a loan fee of €3.5 million for the player in the 2024 winter transfer window and made the move permanent for €16 million in the summer.
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Just one year and 34 goals and assists later, they are demanding €100 million for him, a 5x return on the player, and still managing to get interest from various clubs.
Frankfurt spent a total of £16 million on him, loan fee included, and their investment in a stressed asset is paying dividends.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe once said that there’s no joy in buying a Kylian Mbappe. The real skill is in finding the next one.
It’s time for Man Utd to follow their own Ineos blueprint and get the player on the cheap who’s yet to explode like Ekitike was when he joined Frankfurt.
Georges Mikautadze should be a Man Utd target
There’s no scouting talent in signing an £85 million player, the talent lies in buying a player on the cheap and making him an £85 million talent.
Man Utd’s financial situation makes that lesson even more important, which is where Georges Mikautadze enters the conversation.
The 24-year-old Lyon striker had 28 goals and assists in 47 appearances last season and is valued at €22 million, just slightly above what Frankfurt paid in total for Ekitike.
He’s a stats darling, being above the 90th percentile in assists, xA, progressive passes, carries, touches in the box, and progressive passes received. He’s above the 80th percentile in all other scoring and passing parameters.
Georges Mikautadze percentile stats for 2024/25 season via FBRef
Georges Mikautadze percentile stats for 2024/25 season via FBRef
The only aspect where he falls short, quite literally, is his height (5’7″ vs Ekitike’s 6’3″), but that doesn’t stop him from using his strength to play smartly on the ground and in the air.
Mikautadze’s contract has three years to run and he’s coming off a breakout season so he’s not likely to go for his value, but it will still be nowhere near what Frankfurt are asking for Ekitike.
He’s the player a club buys and eventually turns into what Ekitike is today. It’s time United cut the middleman and do smart business themselves.