'EXCEPTIONAL' Liverpool No.9 target is going to leave admits sporting director

Liverpool are plotting major offensive upgrades in the summer transfer window. But first departures must be conducted.

By offloading unwanted stars, sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Arne Slot will make space in the budget for new arrivals.

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That means Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and potentially Luis Diaz making way for improvements in the No9 position. There has been no shortage of candidates linked with Anfield ahead of the summer window opening.

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They range from the bargain options - with Jonathan David available for free - all the way up to Alexander Isak of Newcastle - who could move for up to £150m.

One of the striker names long established on the Liverpool radar is Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. The 22-year-old Frenchman has got 15 Bundesliga goals and eight assists this season for his side, helping them qualify for the Champions League.

Frankfurt will struggle to hang on to Ekitike

Accordingly, he has been linked with a big-money summer move and Frankfurt were reported to be seeking as much as €100m for his signature.

Liverpool were first interested in Ekitike back in 2022 when he was still playing for Reims. The striker opted for a move to Paris Saint-Germain instead but failed to make a decisive breakthrough.

He has done exceptionally well to realign his career in the Bundesliga, becoming the latest striker to excel in Frankfurt after Sebastian Haller, Randal Kolo Muani and Omar Marmoush.

All of those mentioned banked huge fees for the Waldtadion side, and their top executive has now admitted that the time to cash in on Ekitike is rapidly approaching.

Ekitike likely to be sold

"If a player develops faster than us, then we let him go – if his demands are met by us," sporting director Markus Krösche tells SPORT1 of Ekitike.

"We depend on generating transfer revenue."

Ekitike, a France under-21 international looks a good fit for the Reds and Anfieldwatch revealed talks between the club and the player’s representatives.

Given his age and experience, the chances are he improves in the seasons ahead.

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"Hugo is an exceptional player who played a major role in our qualification for the Champions League,” says Krösche. “He certainly still has a lot of potential for development, as he's only 22 years old."