Liverpool close to signing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike

Liverpool have opened talks with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign striker Hugo Ekitike in a deal worth more than £70m, international media reported on Thursday.

According to British media, Liverpool aims to finalise the deal by this weekend. The Bundesliga club has already rejected Newcastle’s £70m offer for Ekitike, with Liverpool’s offer expected to surpass it.Ekitike has also agreed to join the Premier League champions, who want to sign a central striker.

The 23-year-old made 31 appearances for Frankfurt last season, in which he scored 15 goals.

However, Hugo Ekitike is also a good provider as well as a scorer. Along with his scoring abilities, he is ranked within the top 6% among forwards for creating chances in Germany last season with his eight assists.Ekitike was also on top in terms of shots on goal, firing 117 on target in the Bundesliga last campaign, more than any other player.

With his expected goals figure of 21.6, he was the league’s second highest.Liverpool has also shown serious interest in Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, but the Magpies are reluctant to sell their prized asset.

Liverpool, who have already broken their transfer record to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, would find it difficult to convince Newcastle to sanction Isak’s exit this summer.

Meanwhile, reports are also there that Liverpool have rejected Bayern Munich’s offer of €67.5m for Luis Diaz.However, the German champions believe the Colombian winger is keen to join them, and they returned with a bid for the 28-year-old.

Since he arrived from Porto in January 2022, Diaz has evolved into a vital figure at Anfield. Last campaign was the most successful of Díaz’s Liverpool career, scoring 17 goals in all competitions and playing a pivotal role in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign, where they finished 10 points clear at the top.Liverpool are not ready to sell the 28-year-old and do not want any further bids.