Liverpool could gain a form of revenge on Chelsea this summer after the Blues won the day for two mutual transfer targets in 2023.
Go back 21 months to when the Reds were hotly pursuing Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, only for both players to instead opt for a move to Stamford Bridge, where they and their teammates gave Arne Slot’s Premier League champions a guard of honour earlier this month.
Both clubs have once again been linked with the same player coming into this summer’s transfer window, but one trusted source has hinted that the Merseysiders could hold the upper hand this time.
Liverpool favourites to sign Hugo Ekitike ahead of Chelsea
According to Chelsea insider Simon Phillips, Liverpool are believed to be favourites ahead of the west London outfit in the race to sign Hugo Ekitike, who ex-Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder hailed as ‘a mix between Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe’.
The Eintracht Frankfurt marksman is among a number of strikers that the Blues are eyeing for the summer, but Anfield is currently deemed a likelier destination than Stamford Bridge for the Frenchman, who’s set to be an ‘expensive’ acquisition for whoever ultimately signs him.
Ekitike or Sesko – who’d be the better choice for Liverpool?
With Newcastle incredibly unlikely to budge on Alexander Isak, the Reds have a more affordable alternative in mind in RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, who’s reportedly keen to play for the Merseyside giants and could be attainable after his club failed to qualify for any European competition for next season.
Ekitike’s side were rather more successful, finishing third in the Bundesliga to secure a Champions League place, and his 22 goals in all competitions were pivotal to Eintracht Frankfurt claiming a seat at Europe’s top table for 2025/26.
An asking price of €100m (£84.2m) has apparently been set for the 22-year-old (Florian Plettenberg), matching Leipzig’s valuation of their Slovenian hotshot (DAVEOCKOP), whose goal tally of 21 for the campaign just finished is almost identical to that of his French counterpart.
Given the two strikers’ similar valuations, age profiles and scoring returns, it’s worth a deeper dive into their underlying performance metrics for the 2024/25 season, with reference to figures from FBref.
Ekitike comes out on top for xG (21.6 to 10), shots on target (4 to 2.5) and shot-creating actions (3.55 to 1.93) per game, and pass completion (75.5% to 67.6%). However, Sesko has by far a better xG performance while also emerging superior for aerial duel success (58.8% to 46.8%) and dribble completion (52% to 43.7%).
Overall there’s not much to choose between their pair, and we’d happily take either of them at Liverpool. Leipzig’s poorer season could make their striker the more attainable target this summer, but it’s also encouraging to hear that his counterpart in Frankfurt would seemingly favour a move to Anfield over Chelsea.
