Hugo Ekitike might again seek career advice from Kylian Mbappe amid reports Liverpool and Arsenal are interested in the striker. He previously consulted the Real Madrid star when he left Paris Saint-Germain for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Both Premier League clubs are expected to be on the hunt for a new frontman this summer, and the 22-year-old has certainly made his mark this season with the Bundesliga outfit. With 19 goals and eight assists across all competitions and Frankfurt currently fourth in the German top flight, the youngster's stellar performances have not gone unnoticed. Arne Slot's Reds are said to be very interested in the striker, while the Gunners are also believed to be fans of the Frenchman.
However, any deal would reportedly necessitate a flat fee of £60million to lure Ekitike away from Frankfurt, who already lost star man Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January. Prior his move to Germany, the striker had spent a year as Mbappe's team-mate at PSG during the 2022/23 campaign, scoring just four goals in 32 games across all competitions.
He chose to leave the French capital on loan in 2024 to join Frankfurt on deadline day after discussing his future with his compatriot, reports the Mirror. Ekitike previously sang the praises of Mbappe, revealing: "I have become a better footballer and a better person because of him.
"I watched him a lot and he gave me a lot of tips on where I could improve. He recommended that I take the next step and advised me to come here to progress and develop."
Ekitike's admiration for Mbappe, 26, could spell positive news for Liverpool given how the latter has previously spoken about the Anfield club. Mbappe confessed he was in previously discussions with Liverpool, largely due to his mother's fervent support for the team.
"I talked to Liverpool because it's the favourite club of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool...," he said, per The Telegraph, in 2022. "I don't know why, you will have to ask her! It's a good club and we met them five years ago. When I was in Monaco, I met them. It's a big club."
Throughout his career, Mbappe hasn't been shy about his high regard for Liverpool, particularly during their dominant period. He lauded their performances in their title-winning season of 2019/20 to BBC Sport: "What Liverpool do in this moment is amazing. They're like a machine, they've found a rhythm and are like 'we play again, we play again'.
"They've lost zero games. When you watch you think everything's easy but that's not easy. The guys are focused, they play games every three days and they win, they win, they win.
"Now the problem is that everybody watches Liverpool, and everybody watches what we can do against them, so now they have to show they are strong again but it's a very good team with a very good manager."
Arsenal have this season been hit with long-term injuries to key players such as Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka, curtailing their title challenge. Meanwhile, Liverpool have maintained fitness among most of their forwards throughout much of the season, but contributions up front have been minimal apart from Mohamed Salah, who stands out as their top scorer with 27 Premier League goals - the sole Reds player to notch double digits.