Manchester United and Ruben Amorim face paying a ‘mega price tag’ to land Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
Ruben Amorim is in desperate need to bolster his attacking options in his Manchester United first-team squad after a lacklustre 2024-25 campaign.
The 40-year-old United manager has already been linked with former Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who has attracted interest from Arsenal, this summer.
United already landed Matheus Cunha from Wolves earlier this month after the Red Devils triggered the Brazilian’s £62.5m release clause at the Premier League side.
Amorim is expected to see further reinforcements arrive at Old Trafford and United have been tipped to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Premier League club Brentford.
United struggled in the final third last season and both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund had underwhelming campaigns leading the Red Devils’ frontline.
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Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammate Fares Chaibi during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Heidenheim
Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images
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Ruben Amorim and Man Utd now know why Hugo Ekitike’s transfer value has skyrocketed at Eintracht Frankfurt
Hugo Ekitike has been linked with Manchester United and the former Paris Saint-Germain striker has made a real name for himself at Eintracht Frankfurt.
PSG had loaned out the 23-year-old forward to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2024 January window and the German club later triggered the buy option in the deal.
Frankfurt paid a transfer fee of around €16.5m for United-linked Hugo Ekitike in April 2024 and the French striker made his exit from the Parc des Princes.
According to Bild, Premier League sides like United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are ‘aggressively searching for a new top striker’ ahead of the new season.
The German newspaper has claimed that the ‘limited supply’ and ‘high demand’ for strikers means that ‘prices are rising’ for the available talent in the market.
Bild added that the FIFA Club World Cup has been viewed as a ‘game changer’ and the fact that FIFA ‘will distribute a total of around €880million’ has increased prices.
The tournament winner will be crowned in July and will secure ‘over €110 million,’ which now ‘influences the transfer market’ due to the additional money available.
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One of the interesting details behind Eintracht Frankfurt’s price tag for Hugo Ekitike amid Man Utd’s transfer interest
Bild reports that the reformatted Club World Cup, which FIFA is holding in North America, is set to end in July and expects the ‘big bidding’ to begin for players.
Hugo Ekitike has now been deemed as ‘even more expensive’ and the former PSG and Reims player is currently under contract with Eintracht Frankfurt until 2029.
Frankfurt are expected to play hardball over any negotiations for Ekitike and the striker has a reported £85m (€100m) release clause in his deal with the club.
Bild has suggested that another major ‘reason’ why Ekitike has been valued ‘higher’ by Frankfurt is due to the player being French.
The German publication suggested that a French player is ‘worth significantly more’ than footballers from European countries like Sweden and Denmark.
It has been claimed that the French nationality bumps up Ekitike’s value because there is a ‘probability’ of France having a better chance of ‘winning a title.’