Liverpool have agreed an initial £69 million fee to sign France Under-21 striker Hugo Ekitike from German side Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 23-year-old, who has been directly involved in 29 goals in 47 Bundesliga matches, could cost an extra £10m in add-ons and will have a medical on Tuesday before signing a six-year deal and heading to the Reds’ pre-season Asian tour, according to widespread reports.
Ekitike joins midfielder Florian Wirtz – signed for a potential British-record £116m – and defenders Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who cost a combined £70m, among Liverpool’s summer transfer window signings.
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Liverpool: Ekitike transfer deal
Liverpool have been strongly linked with Ekitike during recent weeks, although Newcastle have long been interested in the former Paris Saint-Germain understudy and had a £70m bid for him rejected this month.
The reigning Premier League champions are also thought to be pursuing Alexander Isak, the Magpies’ top scorer last season.
Isak was left out of Newcastle’s squad for their pre-season thrashing at Celtic on Saturday, although manager Eddie Howe suggested his omission had been a precaution against injury and claimed he was “confident” the Sweden international would be part of his squad at the start of 2025/26.
Hugo Ekitike stats
Reims-born Ekitike joined Reims – then a Ligue 1 club – in 2013 and made his debut in October 2020 before moving to Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub for the rest of the season in January 2021.
A hamstring injury ruled Ekitike out for 10 matches towards the end of that campaign, and he went on to sign for Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan in July for a deal that became permanent the following June for more than £30m.
PSG only used Ekitike for eight minutes in their opening game of 2023/24 before sending him on loan that February to Frankfurt, where all four of his goals that season came across their final five games, alongside one assist.
Ekitike has represented France at youth levels, including a hat-trick in a 5-3 Under-21 home friendly win over England in March and goals against Cyprus and Bosnia in Euro Under-21 qualifying in 2024. He is eligible to play for Cameroon through his father.
Hugo Ekitike goals
Ekitike produced three goals and two assists in eight appearances for Vejle Boldklub in the relegation phase of the Danish top flight, then netted 11 times and set up five goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for Reims the following season, including a run of eight goals and two assists in 12 league games either side of two red cards.
He contributed three goals and four assists in 25 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG, making 12 top-flight starts as well as four brief substitute outings in the Champions League.
A breakout season of 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 matches for Frankfurt followed, including four goals and three assists to help The Eagles reach the Europa League quarter-finals and 15 goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga.
That form earned Ekitike a place in EA Sports’ team of the season, picking him in attack alongside Harry Kane – the runaway top scorer in the division for Bayern Munich – and Serhou Guirassy, who scored 21 goals for Borussia Dortmund.
Why do Liverpool want to sign Hugo Ekitike?
Ekitike’s age and stats suggest there could be plenty more to come. While only 18 players finished on more combined goals and assists in the five major divisions in Europe last season, his expected goals figure suggests he should have scored more than 21.
Only Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Guirassy and Erling Haaland had a higher expected goals tally, and all five of those players matched or scored more than the number of goals they were expected to.
“He already has an exceptional scoring rate and has the potential to become one of Europe’s best strikers,” said Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche, via Bundesliga.com.
The site quoted Ekitike’s former boss as Reims, Oscar Garcia, to have described him as a hard worker in training and “very special” with “a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on”.
“Physical and agile, he’s known for his willingness to press from the front and is a real nuisance when dropping deep to receive possession,” the outlet reported , calling Ekitike potentially “clinical” and “a real workhorse”.
“With his silky touch, slick movement and penchant for cutting in off the left-hand flank thrown into the mix, comparisons with a young Thierry Henry are not that wide of the mark.”
Liverpool relied heavily on Salah during an exceptional first season in England for manager Arne Slot, the 33-year-old Egypt talisman taking responsibility for 29 Premier League goals and 18 assists.
No other Reds player reached double figures in the division for assists, with winger Luis Diaz scoring 13 goals and Cody Gakpo on 10.
When does Liverpool’s 2025/26 Premier League season start?
The first round of Premier League matches in 2025/26 will be on the weekend of August 16 2025, with Liverpool starting the action at home to Bournemouth on Friday, August 15 at 20:00 BST.
The game against one of the surprise packages of last season is being shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Ultra and Main Event.
The last round of matches this season will all start at the same time on May 24 2026. No rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no fixture on December 24.
How to watch Liverpool on TV: Sky Sports
Prices for Sky Sports and TNT Sports vary. Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
How to watch Liverpool on TNT Sports
According to BT, TNT Sports costs £20 a month when bought with a broadband package or £30.99 a month without a contract.
Those prices include discovery+ Premium, which offers access to thousands of exclusive shows and originals.
Liverpool live streams: How to watch games online
Both broadcasters have dedicated apps allowing fans to live-stream the games: SkyGO for Sky Sports and discovery+ for TNT Sports.
Both apps are available on a vast range of devices.
