Hugo Ekitike has signed for Liverpool in a deal worth £79m (€91.5m) from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool will pay an initial fee of £69m (€80m) plus £10m (€12.5m) in add-ons for the striker as their summer spending edges towards £300m.
Similar to the Florian Wirtz deal, the majority of the bonuses in Ekitike’s move are tied to Liverpool’s trophy success and the player making a significant contribution.
Liverpool made their move for Ekitike last week after being told Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is not for sale. Newcastle had a club-record offer of £70m for Ekitike rejected by Frankfurt.
Sky Sports News has been told that Liverpool were comfortable with Newcastle making the first move, as they knew Frankfurt were looking for a bidding war – so the Reds stayed away.
Once Newcastle were close to an agreement, Liverpool entered negotiations, similar to how they signed Luis Diaz from Porto when Tottenham Hotspur were close to doing a deal in January 2022.
One source claims Manchester United made a last-ditch attempt to swoop for Ekitike, but the player had his heart set on Liverpool.
The 23-year-old was an unused substitute during his side’s pre-season game against FSV Frankfurt on July 19 and after the game, Frankfurt boss, quoted by Sky Germany, said Ekitike’s departure is “a bitter loss”.
Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games across all competitions last season for Frankfurt as he helped them qualify for the Champions League.
Liverpool see him as a multi-functional centre forward who primarily plays as a No 9 but can also drop into a second striker role, or operate wide.
The club believes Ekitike has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world if he continues on this trajectory.
