Liverpool are closing in on an £80million deal for Hugo Etikite after a weekend of negotiations with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The France Under-21 international has made it clear he wants to move to Anfield which led Newcastle, who had also been pursuing Etikite, to pull out of the race after their £70million offer had been rebuffed.
It was indicated last Thursday that Liverpool were ready to bid for Etikite and they have been in discussions with the Bundesliga club over the structure and amount they are willing to pay.
Etikite has an £86million release clause and it remains to be seen how close they will get to that figure.
Personal terms will not be an issue on a long-term deal for the 22-year-old and the the desired outcome is for negotiations to be concluded so Etikite can join Liverpool’s squad on their tour to Japan.
Arne Slot’s squad departed for the Far East last night after beating Stoke 5-0 in a behind-closed-doors game at the AXA Training Base in Kirkby; the champions played two different starting line-ups before and after half-time and Florian Wirtz, the club record addition, got his first competitive action for the club following his £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool have made a major breakthrough in their pursuit of Hugo Ekitike
Arne Slot’s team are closing in on a deal for Ekitike, who could become Eintracht Frankfurt’s record sale
Liverpool had also been linked with Alexander Isak, but are now appear focussed on Ekitike
Darwin Nunez scored a hat-trick in the first half, taking his total to four goals in 90 minutes of football this summer – the Uruguayan’s future remains uncertain, however, with Liverpool prepared to offload him for £70million after interest from Napoli fell through.
The highly-regarded teenager Rio Ngumoha and Italian striker Federico Chiesa completed the scoring.
Ekitike will become the side’s fifth major addition this summer following the signings of Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili.
His acquisition will take their summer spend beyond £250m, with reports indicating that the side are not yet finished with their spree.
Last week, Newcastle had an offer of £70m rejected for Ekitike, which fell £16m short of his release clause.
Liverpool have also been linked with a move for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak but that move remains in question, especially after the major outplay for the France Under 21 international.
Last season Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games for Frankfurt in all competitions, with 15 of those strikes coming in the Bundesliga.
He was also named in the Bundesliga team of the season following a hugely impressive campaign.
Last season Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games for Frankfurt in all competitions
Ekitike was previously at Paris Saint-Germain, initially on loan from Reims before joining permanently.
However, he only made 33 appearances for PSG in total and scored four goals.
Liverpool have already been heavily active in the transfer market this summer.
The Premier League champions brought in Wirtz and Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, while Kerkez joined from Bournemouth.
Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid, while Jarell Quansah signed for Bayer Leverkusen.
The Reds are also expected to sell a number of stars before the window closes, with the likes of Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliot all heavily linked with moves away.