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Liverpool fans would struggle to pick faults in their team so soon after winning the Premier League title, but luckily for them the club itself are already working hard on preparations for next season. That, naturally, involves signing new players to provide upgrades on some stars that have perhaps passed their peak or to simply bolster positions that looked a little understocked throughout this season. And if reports are to be believed, the Anfield club are ready to splash the cash to add additional firepower to Arne Slot’s side.
Market Value
H. Ekitiké Centre-Forward
€55.00m
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool have identified no less than three players that they’ll make priority signings in the summer. Two are defensive stars at Bournemouth in the form of Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez, but the third is none other than Eintracht Frankfurt’s star striker Hugo Ekitiké. According to the English publication, Liverpool expect to sell Darwin Núñez in the summer and the Bundesliga talisman has been earmarked as the perfect replacement. So how good is Ekitiké and could he be the answer to Liverpool’s problems in attack next season?
From Ligue 1 flop to Bundesliga talisman
Ekitiké began his career in France for Ligue 1 side Stade Reims. At the French club, the young striker burst onto the scene in his debut season in the first team bagging no less than 11 goals and five assists in 27 games. That quickly led to a €28.5 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, but after just eight goals and assists in 33 games for the Parisian giants he was then sent out on loan to Frankfurt in January of last year. After an impressive six months at the club, he then joined the Bundesliga side permanently last summer for just €16.5m and has been one of the bargains of the season ever since.
With a return to regular game time has also come a consistent stream of goals and assists that has quickly projected Ekitiké back into the list of top talents in European football under the age of 23. As we can see in the table above, only two players in the Frankfurt striker’s age group - Barcelona star Lamine Yamal and PSG winger Bradley Barcola - have bagged more goals and assists than Ekitiké this season in all competitions. Which certainly goes some way to explaining why the player is reportedly on Liverpool’s shopping list but has also been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in recent months too.
Stats
H. Ekitiké Centre-Forward
Stade Reims
Career stats–
All competitions
Games
Goals
Assists
As a result of his rebound at Frankfurt, Ekitiké’s market value has unsurprisingly shot through the roof over the course of the last 18 months. Prior to leaving PSG, the young forward’s market value had fallen to just €15m but since swapping Paris for Frankfurt, Ekitiké’s market value has risen by a remarkable €40m where it now stands at €55m. This makes the young forward the most valuable player at Frankfurt and the eighth most valuable in the Bundesliga, as well as the 14th most valuable centre forward in the world. But that will likely change in the coming years.
Rumour H. Ekitiké Centre-Forward
E. Frankfurt 30 % Liverpool Bundesliga Premier League
Rumour H. Ekitiké Centre-Forward
E. Frankfurt 48 % Tottenham Bundesliga Premier League
Rumour H. Ekitiké Centre-Forward
E. Frankfurt ? Arsenal Bundesliga Premier League
The perfect striker partner for Salah?
While Ekitiké’s goals and assists certainly speak for themselves and would have most Liverpool fans salivating at the prospect of him playing for the Anfield club next season, there is also an additional bonus to him potentially making the move to the club: he may be the perfect striker partner to play alongside Mohamed Salah. While Núñez has struggled to fit into Slot’s tactics, which clearly prioritises passes out right to Salah’s feet, Ekitiké has plenty of experience of playing alongside wide players that are the main contributors of goals and assists in their team. After all, he played alongside Kylian Mbappé at PSG, but what will intrigue Slot and his backroom staff is the partnership Ekitiké struck with Omar Marmoush at Frankfurt this season.
Player Comparison
Omar Marmoush
Mohamed Salah
Manchester City
Liverpool FC
€75.00m
Market Value
€55.00m
Age
Centre-Forward
Position
Right Winger
Jun 30, 2029
Contract until
Jun 30, 2027
Full Player Comparison
Like Salah, Marmoush was a pacey winger who loved to cut inside from the wing to score or create goals in the box. Alongside Ekitiké as his traditional No.9, Marmoush bagged a remarkable 20 goals and 14 assists in just 26 games for Frankfurt, before moving to Manchester City in the January transfer window for €75m. And to Ekitiké’s credit, while he certainly thrived alongside Marmoush, he’s been just as impressive for Frankfurt without the Egyptian forward and in many ways stepped into a leading role to help guide the Eagles to a top-four finish in the Bundesliga.
As we can see in the graphic above, while Marmoush was at the club this season Ekitiké averaged 0.85 goals and assists per 90 minutes in all competitions for the club. While that figure certainly dropped after the Egyptian departed for the Premier League, it only fell slightly to 0.79 goals and assists per 90. Which not only suggests that Ekitiké adapted to life without his strike partner, but that he’s perfectly adaptable at either playing in a front two or as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation. And that should be music to Slot and Liverpool’s ears, should they make a serious move for the striker this summer.