€100m star agrees to five-year Liverpool deal

Liverpool have completed around £200m-worth of incoming transfers so far in the summer window. The biggest arrival by far has been Florian Wirtz, signed for an initial £100m fee from Bayer Leverkusen.

That sum could reach £116m if all add-ons are achieved. Other acquisitions include the full-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, Jeremie Frimpong - also from Leverkusen - and Giorgi Mamardashvili.

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Darwin Nunez could be leaving in the club in order to join Napoli and his departure could end up funding another forward arrival in his place.

READ MORE: Liverpool line up long-awaited £60m Premier League signing

The Italian champions see Nunez as the ideal candidate to relieve the goalscoring burden on Romelu Lukaku.

And once a deal is finally worked out between the Partenopei and Galatasaray for Victor Osimhen, we could see Antonio Conte’s side work on other targets.

Liverpool move into the lead for Ekitike

Liverpool would then have a vacancy for their No9 shirt if Nunez leaves and it looks like Hugo Ekitike is emerging as the frontrunner to take it.

Although the Reds have been linked with Alexander Isak and Osimhen - not to mention Joao Pedro and Jonathan David - the striker market has narrowed as deals have been completed elsewhere.

Eintracht Frankfurt are seeking around €100m for their forward, who enjoyed a breakout campaign in the Bundesliga as his club secured Champions League football.

Ekitike agrees five-year Liverpool contract

Ekitike, 23, is a France under-21 international who is under contract at the Waldstadion until 2029 - meaning Frankfurt are well protected from a transfer fee perspective.

He has been widely linked with other clubs in the Premier League - including Chelsea and Manchester United - but now Liverpool are “favourites” to land the former Paris Saint-Germain forward.

That’s according to a new report from transfer specialist Nicolo Schira, who claims a five-year deal for Ekitike is being worked out between all parties.

Talks opened over Ekitike

“Liverpool are currently leading the race to try to sign Hugo Ekitikè from Eintracht Frankfurt,” he wrote on X. “The striker has given his availability for a contract until 2030. Opened talks.”

Ekitike first appeared on Liverpool’s radar back in 2022 while he was still playing for hometown club Reims. He moved to PSG instead of Anfield, losing his way in an all-star squad which included Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

READ MORE: Defender moves closer to Leeds United deal after Liverpool exit confirmed

A loan deal with Frankfurt, followed by a permanent move, has since re-aligned his career. Ekitike now looks set for the next step in his career as we await news on Nunez.