Hugo Ekitike is set to miss the first half of Liverpool's season with a long-term injury but that has not stopped his value increasing
Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has been handed the ultimate compliment
Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has been handed the ultimate compliment(Image: (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))
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Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike has an estimated transfer value of £116million despite being unavailable due to a long-term injury. The Frenchman has not played since rupturing his Achilles tendon in April and is not expected back until late 2026 or potentially even early next year.
Ekitike was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in a £79million deal last summer and had a great first seven months at Anfield with 17 goals to his name before injury struck. Given the quality he has shown and as he is arguably yet to enter his prime years at 24, his value has only increased.
CIES Football Observatories, using a number of tools, have figured out that he is worth up to a staggering £116million. Market inflation and a rough price range of what a buying club would most likely pay are taken into account when working out what a players' estimated transfer value would be.
In Ekitike's case, given his nationality, that is likely to be Paris Saint-Germain and the triple-figure deals for other players sees his £116m valuation make sense.
That could potentially change depending on when Ekitike could return to action. Andoni Iraola provided an update on the condition of some long-term absentees back in July with the update on Ekitike not too promising.
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He said: "In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is [Giovanni] Leoni. After will be Conor [Bradley] and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”
The other two suffered serious knee injuries last season with Alexander Isak also missing a large portion of the campaign. The Swede will be needed for the majority of the season given Ekitike's injury but Iraola has hinted Cody Gakpo could play that role.
Cody Gakpo of Liverpool
Cody Gakpo can play as the central striker if he stays at Liverpool
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He said: "I think Cody can play as a 9. Not tried it pre-season because we don't have enough wingers. He knows what we need from him in his preferred position as a left-winger but I have spoken to him about his minutes as a 9. He's done it before and he can help us there."
However, there is no guarantee that that the Dutchman is still at the club heading into September with Tottenham interested in signing him.
Bradley Barcola joining from Paris Saint-Germain could allow him to leave but it seems likely he would only be free to move in if Liverpool also signed one of Yankuba Minteh and Ibrahim Mbaye or potentially both.
Liverpool look set to contest the new season with a new-look attack that could includes two summer additions and Isak, who may well feel like a new signing if he hits the ground running.