Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are all believed to be interested in landing highly-rated Eintracht Frankfurt and France U21 striker Hugo Ekitike in the summer transfer window
Eintracht Frankfurt intend to play hardball with Premier League clubs for highly-coveted striker Hugo Ekitike this summer.
The Bundesliga outfit, who are notoriously stubborn negotiators, refused to budge on their €70million (£59m) asking price for Omar Marmoush in January and their hard-nosed stance paid dividends as Manchester City eventually coughed up the cash for the Egyptian.
Crucially, Frankfurt already had a ready-made replacement for Marmoush to hand in Ekitike but given PSG have a 20 per cent sell-on clause, the Germans are determined to drive a hard bargain to maximise potential profit.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have all recently been credited with an interest in the red-hot 22-year-old, who netted an impressive hat-trick for France U21s against England during the international break.
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Newcastle, who twice came close to signing Ekitike in 2022 during his time at Stade Reims, could also swoop for their former target if they reluctantly sell Alexander Isak at the end of the season.
Arsenal and Liverpool both have Isak at the top of their shortlist but know it will be difficult to prise the Swede away from St James’ Park, particularly if the Magpies secure Champions League qualification.
Sources close to Ekitike insist there is every chance the player will leave Frankfurt in the coming months with England being billed as his most likely destination. A £60m package is the figure being mooted but the 2022 Europa League winners are thought to be relishing the prospect of a bidding war and could yet seek offers north of that valuation.
Cash-strapped United may struggle to put that kind of money on the table without notable sales but they hold a unique advantage over transfer rivals given Ekitike is a boyhood fan of the Red Devils. He has 19 goals and eight assists to his name in all competitions this season and looks set to finish the campaign in sparkling form.
Several Premier League clubs have already started to call the player’s agent Karl Mwalako Buchmann to understand the numbers involved in a potential deal. Speaking earlier this month during Dutch TV channel Ziggo Sport’s coverage of Ajax’s Europa League defeat to Frankfurt, Wesley Sneijder lavished the Frenchman with praise.
The former Holland international said of Ekitike: “I’ll tell you, I’ve seen a lot of this boy. Now, I may say something really crazy, but I’ll say it anyway: I think he is a mix between Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe. I sincerely mean that.
“He has that grace from Neymar but also the movements of Mbappe. Suddenly accelerating – that’s something Mbappe also has and he is only 22 years old. There is really a lot of potential in this boy.”
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