The tangled web involving Liverpool, Newcastle United, Alexander Isak (£10.5m) and Hugo Ekitike finally resolved itself on Wednesday: the Reds have now officially captured the latter.
Frankfurt are experts at buying forwards cheap and selling them high – the previous one being Omar Marmoush (£8.5m) in January. Here, they’re receiving an initial £69m that should rise to £79m.
So, will the 23-year-old start improving his goal numbers and become a top Fantasy Premier League (FPL) asset?
In this latest Scout Report, we take a look at his career and upcoming season.
HISTORY
Born in June 2002, Ekitike started at youth level with local team Cormontreuil FC before joining the Stade de Reims academy in 2013.
He made his senior Ligue 1 debut for them in 2020, before heading out on loan to Danish club Vejle Boldklub for a bit.
Ekitike’s breakthrough campaign came in 2021/22, scoring 11 goals from 16 starts in all competitions. He was close to joining Newcastle halfway through, but ultimately elected to remain in his hometown.
Six months later, Paris Saint-Germain came calling. Following seven early attacking returns, the initial loan deal became permanent for around €28.5m, plus a few million bonuses.
However, back then, it was a struggle to get game time ahead of their superstars. He didn’t even make PSG’s 2023/24 Champions League squad, leading to a winter loan move.
Like before, Frankfurt were impressed with his potential and soon made it permanent for a cut-price €16.5m fee. And Ekitike really stepped up last season, gaining widespread attention thanks to 15 goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga, accruing another four and three when reaching the Europa League quarter-finals.
Domestically, Die Adler finished third, successfully qualifying for this season’s Champions League.
But the World Cup is less than a year away and he’s still without a cap for France’s senior squad.
PLAYING STYLE
Capable of playing as both a lone striker or in a two-man frontline, Ekitike offers a physical 6ft 3in presence but is also quick and agile, sometimes drifting out wide to draw opposing centre-backs out of position before dashing in behind – or through – backlines using speed and strength.
A capable dribbler, he makes plenty of direct runs with the ball at his feet and frequently finds space in the box. It means he’s well-positioned to receive through balls, attack crosses and latch onto rebounds.
“His tactical understanding is one of his great strengths. He is versatile and not just a striker who feels at home inside the box. Ekitike might not be the most dynamic player, but he can get past defenders with smart moves.” – German football writer Constantin Eckner
And while it’s not often been demanded of him at Frankfurt, Ekitike has shown promising signs of being willing to press and regain the ball high up the pitch. This will endear him to Slot.
His efficiency could use some improvement, though. A decent 15 goals came in the league, but from an expected goals (xG) figure of 21.7 which was the Bundesliga’s second-highest.
Such underachievement is partly influenced by his willingness to shoot from anywhere. Nobody bettered Ekitike’s 115 total attempts, not even top-scorer Harry Kane. This brought a poor conversion rate (13%), and a low 41% of these shots were on target.
Still, he found himself in the Bundesliga’s top 10 for efforts on target per 90, with a rate of just under two.
Alongside approximately four shots per 90 and a similar number of shot-creating actions that put him number one for expected goal involvement (xGI, 27.1), Ekitike’s prospects look promising. He’s joining a Liverpool side that had by far the most big chances (150) and created opportunities (511).
In fact, his xGI would’ve placed only behind new teammate Mohamed Salah (£14.5m), from 33 appearances rather than 38.
Furthermore, Ekitike also ranked in the Bundesliga’s upper percentiles for progressive carries, touches in the opposition penalty box and successful take-ons per 90.
WHERE EKITIKE FITS IN AT LIVERPOOL
We spoke briefly about Ekitike’s position in Frankfurt’s line-up in Marmoush’s Scout Report, from earlier this year.
The duo often played together, with the Egyptian usually being a second striker, attacking midfield or left-sided forward role, and Ekitike used as a more traditional centre-forward. With Liverpool spending so much, expect him to lead Arne Slot’s attack.
His pace and dribbling ability could see him interchange with whoever plays out wide, as we often saw in-game between Luis Diaz (£8.0m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.5m). This would more likely involve him drifting to the left before cutting inside onto his stronger right foot.
Ekitike’s experience playing in a two-pronged frontline could also give Slot the flexibility to experiment, knowing he has a new pair of attacking full-backs to accommodate. If Diaz stays, amid interest from Bayern Munich, we know he and Gakpo are capable of delivering up front. Darwin Nunez (£6.5m) is currently at the club, too.
Unfortunately, Ekitike is highly unlikely to snatch penalty duties from Salah. He mightn’t even surpass Gakpo as second choice. But he wasn’t relying on them in 2024/25, scoring just once from the spot.
One other thing to point out is that he was taken off in 22 of 33 Bundesliga occasions and seven of 12 Europa League outings. It’s worth keeping an eye on whether he’s often one of the first men withdrawn by Slot.
WHAT FPL PRICE SHOULD WE EXPECT?
FPL’s chosen price will mostly determine how much pre-season interest he’ll receive.
Although he’s the presumed starting striker for the reigning champions, anything £9.0m or more would feel a bit steep. This is a player who has only recently begun to properly flourish and lacks top-level experience.
Diaz, Gakpo and Nunez – the latter two classed as forwards – started last season at £7.5m. That would be incredibly appealing, should Ekitike nail down the number nine role. In comparison, Diaz and Gakpo began their first seasons at £8.0m, while Nunez entered the game at £9.0m.
Here are the starting prices of some previous Bundesliga purchases:
- Timo Werner (Chelsea, 2020/21) – £9.5m forward, after a season of 28 goals
- Jadon Sancho (Manchester United, 2021/22) – £9.5m midfielder
- Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea, 2023/24) – £7.5m midfielder
- Niclas Füllkrug (West Ham United, 2024/25) – £7.0m forward, after a season of 12 goals
Therefore, a starting price of £8.0m or £8.5m feels fair. It’d place him slightly above the likes of Chris Wood (£7.5m) and Yoane Wissa (£7.5m).
Anything higher would – at the moment – seem unwarranted, making him competition for Isak and Ollie Watkins (£9.0m). Anything lower would surely provoke some pretty heavy ‘template’ investment before Gameweek 1.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that none of those other ex-Bundesliga players highlighted above have been a Premier League success. Let’s throw in former West Ham United striker Sebastien Haller too, another big Frankfurt sale.
Positional rival Nunez also arrived on Merseyside for an eye-catching fee following a strong season abroad, but failed to live up to it.
Instead, Liverpool will be hoping he adapts in a similar way to Marmoush, who had a promising first half-season in England. Or fellow Manchester City colleague Erling Haaland (£14.0m), an instant phenomenon upon arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
IS EKITIKE WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
There is definitely some risk about picking Ekitike, as his one strong season still didn’t exceed 15 league goals.
Liverpool’s opening run isn’t particularly good, either, according to our Fixture Ticker. They must face Arsenal and Newcastle in their first three matches.
Even so, the potential is there for Ekitike to have a transformative season at Anfield. Surrounding him with Salah, Diaz, Florian Wirtz (£8.5m), plus flying full-backs Jeremie Frimpong (£6.0m) and Milos Kerkez (£6.0m), could be fruitful.
If he can become more clinical when it comes to converting chances – many of them will arrive, surely – he’d take some of the goal-scoring load off 33-year-old Salah’s shoulders.
Like Wirtz, Ekitike will be an alternative to Salah for far less money but don’t expect the Frenchman to ‘cover’ Salah – no one has really come close to doing that since he joined Liverpool in 2017.
Rather, the question is: will Ekitike be able to compete with the forwards available at the same price? Assuming it’s somewhere around the £8.0m mark, you’d have to say there are more tried-and-tested similarly priced alternatives. Perhaps starting off with a Chris Wood (£7.5m) or a Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) for more favourable early fixtures is the play, before moving to Etikike in Gameweek 4 if he looks the part.
