Liverpool has opened conversations with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign Hugo Ekitike.
The club closed their approach after Sky Sports News revealed on Tuesday that they would be expected to match Newcastle for the rush.
Sky Sports News understands that Newcastle is aware of the interest of Liverpool and the revision of their options.
More to follow.
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.”