Liverpool could miss out on Hugo Ekitike this summer, with Chelsea advancing.
The Merseysiders are understood to be in the market for a new striker alongside the Blues.
Arne Slot’s men will likely offload one of Diogo Jota or Darwin Nunez, with the London-based outfit likewise looking to part ways with Christopher Nkunku.
For now, Chelsea are understood to hold the advantage over Liverpool for Ekitike.
Chelsea pushing to beat Liverpool to Hugo Ekitike
Liverpool’s need for striker reinforcements has been pretty well-established over the course of the 2024/25 campaign.
Mo Salah has done some heavy lifting, as far as goal contributions are concerned, whilst both Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have enjoyed positive campaigns.
We have to take a serious look at both Jota and Nunez, however, who have fallen below par. The former, one might argue, still has a future at Anfield provided he can get in a solid pre-season.
The latter’s days feel a little numbered by contrast, with the Uruguayan simply not meeting Arne Slot’s high technical standards.
With that in mind, Reds across the globe face a nervous wait over the future of Hugo Ekitike, with Frankfurt understood to be open to a sale.
Indeed, Florian Plettenberg has reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Chelsea are ‘pushing’ to ‘finalise the deal’, with Liverpool still in the picture.
⤵️✔️ Chelsea are pushing and want to finalise the deal – but Liverpool are also there. #CFC #LFC
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 5, 2025
Liverpool could also pursue Viktor Gyokeres
For how long we’re set to remain in the picture for Ekitike remains to be seen.
We rather suspect Frankfurt won’t want to be rushed into a sale ahead of the closing of the first provisional window on June 10. It will then reopen on June 16, which may give us all the time we need to finalise deals for Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz before turning attention to the Frankfurt striker.
In case Chelsea do manage to strike a deal, however, it’s not necessarily the end of the world for our recruitment team.
Arsenal are seemingly keen on Benjamin Sesko, whilst Manchester United continue to hold interest in Viktor Gyokeres. There’s also the outside option of Victor Osimhen on the market.
Players
Goals
xG
xG per 90
Victor Osimhen
26
23.8
0.93
Viktor Gyokeres
39
30.95
0.99
Hugo Ekitike
15
21.67
0.84
* Stats from the 2024/25 league season, courtesy of Sofascore
We would hasten to emphasise that both Osimhen and, to a lesser degree, Gyokeres play in objectively weaker leagues by comparison to Hugo Ekitike.
On that basis, we’d expect their numbers to decline more notably following a move to the Premier League.
Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile
