Every football club has their own tale of ‘one-that-got-away’. It’s just that West Ham United, who face Hugo Ekitike and Liverpool at Anfield this weekend, have more than most.
Just last week, the Hammers went head to head with Eli Junior Kroupi and kept him pretty quiet. A feat relatively few have achieved this season.
One year after West Ham United agreed a fee with FC Lorient, only to see Bournemouth snatch Kroupi from under their noses thanks to the Cherries’ multi-club arrangement, an impressive defensive display means the Londoners dodged a narrative they could have done without.
‘West Ham’s one-that-got-away sends them closer to relegation’. A headline that will make all claret and blue fanatics shudder.
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Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on February 7, 2026 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, Saturday’s looming trip to the red half of Stanley Park will bring about a reunion with another transfer target of the recent past; Hugo Ekitike.
David Moyes turned down Hugo Ekitike at West Ham United
While Kroupi sits third in the goals-per-minute table – former Hammer Bobby Zamora sees shades of Jermain Defoe in the Bournemouth sensation with eight strikes in 12 starts – Liverpool’s former Frankfurt frontman comes in at seventh.
Eighteen starts, ten Premier League goals, and an average of one every 161 minutes.
Hugo Ekitike celebrates during Liverpool v Bournemouth - Premier League
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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If Liverpool’s questionable squad-building and ill-advised summer splurge is perhaps the biggest reason why the reigning champions host West Ham 16 points off the top, then Ekitike’s brilliance has at least offset the disappointment surrounding Alexander Isak and co.
But why did it take until the summer of 2025, and a bid of £69 million, for Ekitike to finally make his mark in English football?
Well, Newcastle tried. Multiple times, in fact. Ekitike turned down the Magpies in favour of Paris Saint-Germain, following a flurry of bids. And the Hammers, according to French publication Le10 Sport, submitted an offer worth £21 million when Ekitike was still a 19-year-old making waves at Stade Reims.
Now, three years on, Hammers News can confirm that Ekitike and his agent met with Rob Newman – then West Ham’s Director of Professional Football and Scouting – at a hotel near the London Stadium in January 2023.
David Moyes would veto the deal.
If that isn’t damning enough, Moyes would then push for the £15 million signing of Danny Ings instead.
“We’ve had a look at a few players but I wanted someone who wasn’t a risk in terms of knowing the league,” Moyes said at the time. “He is what we need.”
David Moyes chose Danny Ings over Ekitike at West Ham
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And therein lies the issue with the so-called ‘proven Premier League’ model.
A 33-year-old Ings is now sitting on the bench in the Championship with Sheffield United, having scored only four times in 52 top-flight games for the Hammers.
The very same Hammers side who travel to Merseyside hoping to stop Ekitike – a full decade Ings’ junior – adding a 16th goal to his Liverpool tally.
“[Ekitike has been] one of, if not the, best signing in the Premier League” Manchester United great Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport recently.
“He’s the type of player I like to watch. He’s not a number nine, he’s not a number 10. He drifts out wide, gets on the ball, brings players into the game and he can score goals. He’s got a bit of everything really.”
A timely reminder to the West Ham fans underwhelmed by an early array of lesser-known summer targets – reportedly including Alpha Toure, Evertton Araujo and Mexican striker Armando Gonzalez – sometimes ‘proven’ doesn’t always equal success.
Sometimes, it really is worth taking the punt on something more under the radar.
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