Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike will not be playing at this summer's Under-21 European Championship. France have confirmed that the 22-year-old has withdrawn from the squad due to injury.
Ekitike is currently at the centre of a fierce transfer battle with Chelsea among the interested clubs, football.london understands. Liverpool are also thought to be keen on signing him.
Having scored 15 times in Bundesliga last season, Ekitike announced himself as one of the best young forwards to look out for this window. Frankfurt are expected to make the most of that as they hold out for upwards of £80million.
With Liam Delap already through the door at Chelsea (pending the completion of his medical and an announcement), signing Ekitike would raise questions for the future of Nicolas Jackson. The Chelsea striker scored 10 league goals in 2024/25 but struggled throughout the second half of the season and was sent off in a defeat away at Newcastle United which almost proved costly.
Chelsea were keen to bring in at least one source of backup and competition for Jackson this summer having been left without one for much of the past two years. Ekitike is seen as someone who could come in and improve the squad.
The Frenchman has a similar profile to Jackson and came through at Reims between 2020 and 2021, contributing to 13 goals as a teenager. That earned him a move to Paris Saint-Germain, where his role was more as a bit-part player.
Ekitike hasn't looked back at Frankfurt, though, scoring 19 times in the league and assisting 10 since his January 2023 move to Germany. That made him a standout in a stacked France Under-21 side for the Euros later this month.
However, the French federation have confirmed that he arrived at the Clairefontaine training with back pain which carried over from the end of the club season. In a statement they explained that head coach Gerald Baticle has called up Soungoutou Magassa and DjaouI Cisse and replacements after Enzo Millot also left the squad.
The team named by Baticle includes RC Strasbourg winger Dilane Bakwa as well as promising youngsters Thierno Barry, Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, and Eli Junior Kroupi. England will also be at the tournament with Delap named in the provisional squad by Lee Carsley.
Whether Delap plays or not remains to be seen due to Chelsea's commitments at the Club World Cup during the same period. Chelsea start their group stage in Atlanta on June 16, which is four days after England face Slovakia.
The Under-21 Euros will end on June 28. If England were to get to the final then Delap could feasibly play there before joining up with his new club side in America for early integration into July.
The last Club World Cup group match will be on June 25. The knockout stages start on June 28/29 with the final not being until July 13 in New York.
By that point there will only be four weeks until the new Premier League season kicks off. Chelsea will hope to have most of their summer business concluded by then and are also trying to secure a deal for Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens, football.london understands.
The player is available for around £50million. If Chelsea were to land him as well as Ekitike and Delap then their spending would immediately be at £160million.
Reports have suggested that Chelsea could try to tempt Frankfurt into lowering the Ekitike price by offering players in part-exchange. His summer has now just become a whole lot emptier, and it could make life easier for Chelsea.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Chelsea Conference League Champions