Hugo Ekitike has signed for Liverpool in a Deal worth £ 79 million (€ 91.5 million) by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool pays a first fee of £ 69 million (€ 80 million) plus £ 10 million (€ 12.5 million) in add-ons for rush hour as their summer edges to £ 300 million.
Just like the Florian Wirtz -deal, the majority of bonuses in the move of Ekitike is bound by the success of Liverpool and the player who makes an important contribution.
Laverpool made their step for Ekitike last week after he was told that Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is not for sale. Newcastle had rejected a club record offer of £ 70 million for Ekitike by Frankfurt.
The 23-year-old was an unused replacement during the pre-season match on his side against FSV Frankfurt on July 19 and after the game said Frankfurt boss, quoted by Sky Germany, that the departure of Ekitike is “a bitter loss”.
Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games in all matches last season for Frankfurt when he helped them to be eligible for the Champions League.
Liverpool are now the biggest spenders of the competition – but how?
Liverpool is now the biggest spenders of the Premier League, with their Summer Spree now at £ 300 million.
The £ 79 million deal for Hugo Ekitike has brought the expenditure of Liverpool £ 295.5 million, which is more than £ 75 million more than the next largest expenditure in Chelsea.
Liverpool has even spent more than Manchester City and Arsenal combined – the third and fourth largest editions so far.
Tottenham is the fourth largest expenses of £ 110.7 million, just above newly promoted Sunderland that has already spent £ 107 million.
But how can Liverpool afford Ekitike to have already issued a club record compensation to bring Florian Wirtz to Anfield earlier this summer?
Well, the club's financial data indicated that they could possibly lose another £ 200 million this summer and still meet the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) – where clubs can lose £ 105 million for a period of three years.
According to the expert of football financing Swiss Ramble, the most recent financial results of the Reds showed that Liverpool made £ 48 million in the current PSR period of three years, partly because of the modest recent transfer expenditure.
That means that Liverpool can lose another £ 158 million and still be in accordance with the following summer.
And while Liverpool has already spent around £ 185 million on new players in the current window – including a reimbursement of a maximum of £ 116 million for Wirtz – the Reds placed a club record income of £ 613.8 million for the 2023-24 season, partly due to commercial success.
That figure will only increase on the seasonal accounts of 2024-25, given Liverpool Champions League football, knockout qualification for that tournament and also Premier League champions.
Academy Product Jarell Quansah has already joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £ 35 million deal that represents 100 percent profit under PSR rules, and the Reds can further stimulate sales figures by the end of the summer.
And earlier in the summer, Brentford Back -up goalkeeper Cooimhin Kelleher signed for a first £ 12.5 million.
Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Luiz Diaz are all further potential departure, although a Diaz output is currently less likely, despite the attempts of Bayern Munich to put him away.
What has Liverpool seen in the attacker in Frankfurt?
Ekitike is a multifunctional center-forward that can work as a no. 9, but also has the possibility to fulfill other roles. As such, Liverpool is the feeling that they sign a well -performing player who is able to justify this price tag – and with a huge potential to improve.
A lot has been made of the parable between the French attacker and Isak, the Newcastle striker that would have been the best target of many clubs this summer if it had not been for the priceless costs of the deal. Ekitike corresponds to many statistics.
The figures even suggest that he brings others even more into play, a team player who makes intelligent runs with and without the ball. Ekitike can stretch defenses by falling behind the space at the transition, but is also creative in tight spaces.
Critics can indicate the superior score record of Isak – Ekitike registered 15 goals in the Bundesliga last season – but Liverpool may consider the underlying figures to be more encouraging and evidence that Ekitike could even be undervalued in the current market.
Data experts would believe that Ekitike's expected goals figure, who was the highest in the Bundesliga last season, proves that he is a player whose physicality and intelligent movement see him coming in good situations time and time again.
Such figures tend to go back to the average. The club would rather invest in a player whose figures are likely to be trend. If Ekitike is possible, then Liverpool – even at an initial price of £ 69 million – could see their investment in him as a bargain.
Ekitike ready for the next step after breakthrough of Bundesliga
Sky Sports' Adam Bate:
When Hugo Ekitike was still a teenager at Stade Reims, the coaching staff prepared a development plan for him. They analyzed the performance of Kylian Mbappe and then chose two more players from that Ekitike could realistically replicate.
“These were players with similar profiles of teams that were better than our team, but not at the distance Paris Saint-Germain were ours,” Oscar Garcia, the then head coach of Reims, told Sky Sports. “We challenged him to reach the level of the other two strikers.”
At first glance, that was a completely reasonable goal in the short term. Prior to his last season at Reims, Ekitike had not even scored a goal in the top layer of France. He had spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan at the Danish club Vejle Boldklub.
He returned to Reims as the fourth choice, but soon forced Oscar to review. Shortly thereafter were the two strikers whose level he was encouraged to hit no longer in his sights. “Within a few months he wanted to reach the same level as Mbappe.”
It is a story that offers a look at the mindset of the Eintracht Frankfurt, which has long been associated with a switch to the Premier League.
“He was always a talented player, but some coaches didn't like him because of his profile and sometimes because of his character,” Oscar admits. “They thought he was a bit arrogant. He always wanted to be compared to the best.”
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