Liverpool have been maintaining a strong interest in Alexander Isak, but it appears that they’re not putting all of their eggs in that particular basket in the pursuit of a new centre-forward.
The Newcastle striker has been enjoying a terrific season and helped consign the Reds to defeat in the Carabao Cup final by scoring at Wembley, although Fabrizio Romano has indicated that it could take well over £75m to persuade the Magpies to sell.
Should the Swedish marksman prove to be outside LFC’s price range, or if he has no desire to move to Anfield, then Richard Hughes will need to turn his attention to other number 9s – and there could already be a more than passable alternative on the radar.
Liverpool scouts monitoring Hugo Ekitike
In his latest Liverpool Confidential column for the Daily Mail, Lewis Steele reported that Liverpool scouts have been closely monitoring Eintract Frankfurt centre-forward Hugo Ekitike, with Arne Slot determined to upgrade that part of his squad.
The 22-year-old has enhanced his reputation even further during the international break, scoring a hat-trick for France under-21s in a 5-3 win over their England counterparts last week with a variety of eye-catching finishes.
It’s mentioned in the report that, in contrast to Diogo Jota, the 6 foot 3 striker would be ‘a nightmare match-up’ in aerial duels, while also providing ‘far more reliability’ with his finishing than Darwin Nunez.
Ekitike would offer Liverpool a wide range of impressive attributes
In addition to his superb exploits for his nation, Ekitike has also been prolific for his club this season, with 19 goals in 38 matches. He hasn’t been a mere flat-track bully, either, finding the net against Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Ajax (Transfermarkt).
The striker with the ‘wiry frame’ (as Steele put it) also measures quite favourably in comparison to positional peers across Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for a number of underlying metrics, as outlined by FBref.
He features among the top 10% of that subcategory with his match averages for shots taken, non-penalty xG, shot-creating actions, progressive carries and successful take-ons.
Football Transfers‘ valuation system estimates the Frenchman’s market value at just €42.3m (£35.3m), and although he’d likely cost substantially more, he could still be a potent and more affordable alternative to Isak if the Swede proves to be unattainable.
Whether Liverpool’s scouting of Ekitike will lead to a sustained transfer pursuit is unclear as of yet, but his combination of consistent scoring output and physical stature ought to make him well worthy of consideration for the Reds’ recruitment team.
