Liverpool are reportedly ‘working’ on a deal to sign Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
These are still early days of the summer transfer window, but the Reds have already purchased Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez by splashing around £190m.
However, it has been suggested that the Merseyside club won’t stop their business just yet as they want a new centre-back to replace departing Jarell Quansah and a new striker.
But signing a new centre-forward is dependent on the potential departure of Darwin Núñez. Since moving to Anfield for a huge fee a few years ago, the Uruguayan has been struggling to showcase his best in the Premier League.
He even found himself out of favour under Arne Slot last term. So, the Dutch boss is open to parting ways with the South American, and Napoli have been heavily linked with a move for him.
Now, speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano says that Liverpool have already started ‘working’ to sign Ekitike to replace Núñez and are ‘discussing’ the possibility of sealing the deal. However, this move won’t happen quickly, so the Anfield faithful will have to be patient.
Ekitike to Liverpool
Romano said:
“Liverpool are working on this deal, they are discussing the possibility of adding Hugo Ekitike to their squad. The idea of Liverpool is to have one more striker, they are waiting to understand what happens with Darwin Nunez with conversations ongoing with Napoli.
“Liverpool can add a new striker, so Hugo Ekitike remains a name on the list for the club. Of course, this is not a deal happening today or tomorrow, so we need to be patient – but Ekitike is a name on the list for Liverpool.”
The 23-year-old still has four years left in his current contract, so Frankfurt are in a strong position to demand a big fee for him and have slapped a whopping £85m price tag on his head.
It has been suggested that apart from Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal are also interested in him, having been impressed by his performances last term.
In 48 appearances in all competitions, he scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists last season. Moreover, he helped his side qualify for the Champions League by finishing in the top three.
It is going to be interesting to see whether the Merseyside club eventually opt to secure his service in this transfer window to strengthen the attacking department.