Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot reacts during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on May 25, 2025.placeholder image
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot reacts during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on May 25, 2025. | AFP via Getty Images
It has been a busy 24 hours in the Liverpool transfer landscape
Just as Liverpool’s transfer business looked to be taking a backseat with pre-season underway, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive in the last 24 hours.
The Reds have signed a number of players already this summer with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez getting a first taste of action in Sunday’s friendly with Championship side Preston North End.
Arne Slot would like to add further to his squad but there is a feeling that the majority of the Reds’ business has been sewn up. A new striker is still an important part of the puzzle. It emerged in the last 24 hours that the Reds had ramped up their interest in Alexander Isak with an official approach to Newcastle United.
However, there are alternatives on Liverpool’s radar, one of which is Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike. The forward is also a prime target for the Magpies and if the north east club are not open to doing business over Isak, they could miss out on one of their main targets if the Reds opt to make a move.
Newcastle see Hugo Ekitike bid rejected
With Newcastle interested in Ekitike, they are the first club to make a firm move with an offer for the player. However, Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has shared that has been turned down over payment terms and because other clubs have indicated they will pay more.
He said on X: “Eintracht Frankfurt are understood to have rejected a written offer from Newcastle this morning worth €80 million (£69.3m), mainly due to the payment terms … and Markus Krösche wants more. There are clubs who have already signalled they would be willing to pay more.”
The bid, if accepted, would have been a club-record deal for the Magpies.
German football writer Constantin Eckner has told BBC Sport that Krösche, who is Frankfurt's sporting director, won’t let Ekitike go for anything below £86m - which is believed to be the player’s release clause.
Hugo Ekitike a player in demand
The striker scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions last season and has also been linked with the likes of Manchester United along with Arsenal and Chelsea. The latter two may have moved on, however, with the Gunners keen to sign Viktor Gyokeres while the Blues have completed a deal for Joao Pedro. Eintracht hold all the cards with Ekitike, given the £86m release clause and the fact the player is locked into his contract until 2029.
He only made the move to the Bundesliga side last summer so is only in the early part of a long-term deal. Frankfurt lost Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January and will be resistant to letting Ekitike depart for less than their valuation.
Speaking last month, Krosche said of the player’s possible exit: “If the price isn’t right, then he’ll simply stay with us. We don’t have to sell Hugo.”