Liverpool close in on deal to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
Claims of a bid of 90million euros (£78m) being accepted for the Frenchman appear to be wide of the mark, with the two clubs still in negotiations over the fee and the structure of any transfer.
But it is understood Liverpool are increasingly confident an agreement will soon be struck, with personal terms already reached with the 23-year-old, who has made a splash in the Bundesliga after last year's switch from Paris St Germain.
Ekitike initially moved to Frankfurt on loan 18 months ago before completing a permanent switch in the summer and he scored 15 goals in 31 games to help the club finish third in the German top flight.
His exploits attracted the attention of Newcastle, who reportedly had a £70m offer for the France Under-21 international knocked back and have subsequently seemed to have dropped out of the race.
Liverpool had been weighing up a big-money move for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, although with the Magpies warning he is not for sale, the Premier League champions switched focus to Ekitike.
Arne Slot's side have already signed Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez this summer, with Giorgi Mamardashvili linking up with the side after agreeing a move last August.
The likely arrival of Ekitike to Anfield for another sizeable transfer fee might nudge Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa closer to the exit door as Liverpool look to balance the books. Luis Diaz is still attracting attention from Bayern Munich although the Reds have no plans to sell the Colombian.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tim Wellens completes set of Grand Tour victories with solo win on stage 15
Tim Wellens had time to high-five fans inside the final kilometre as he soloed to victory on stage 15 of the Tour de France into Carcassonne with his team-mate Tadej Pogacar retaining the yellow jersey. Wellens, 34, completed his set of Grand Tour stage victories, attacking from a reduced four-man breakaway with 44 kilometres remaining of the 169km stage from Muret. The Belgian national champion quickly opened a sizeable gap before the long downhill run into the medieval city, where his margin of victory over compatriot Victor Campenaerts was 1:28. In the confusion of another frantic day of racing, Julian Alaphilippe celebrated as though he had won the stage when he edged a three-way sprint for third, having apparently been without a working radio after hurting his shoulder in an earlier crash. Instead, it was a fifth stage victory of this Tour for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with Pogacar having taken the other four on his way to building an advantage of four minutes 13 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard going into Monday's rest day. There was no change at the top of the general classification, with the main favourites finishing some six minutes after Wellens took the win, although Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodriguez made the most of getting in the breakaway by leapfrogging Ben Healy into ninth overall. Florian Lupowitz remains third, just shy of eight minutes off yellow and one minute 25 seconds ahead of 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley. Wellens, who triumphed in the Belgian champion's jersey a day before his home country's national day, and a day after compatriot Remco Evenepoel was forced to exit the race in tears, savoured every moment on the ride into town. 'It was a very special victory,' Wellens said. 'Everybody knows the Tour de France, everybody wants to ride the Tour de France but not many get to win at the Tour de France so it's very beautiful. 'I knew it was going to be very beautiful to complete my trilogy of the Giro, Tour and Vuelta and I knew I had to enjoy the moment. I kept riding to the finish line because I wanted a big gap and to maybe put my bike in the air on the finish, but I was so happy I forgot to do it.' In keeping with so much of this Tour to date, it was another chaotic stage as a hilly route across southern France offered little let-up after three days in the Pyrenees. A furious fight to get into the breakaway was interrupted by an early crash that split the peloton, with Vingegaard and Lipowitz among those held up. Pogacar tried to slow the pace to allow them to close a one-minute gap, but others were still attacking to get down the road - including Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike teammates - and it took a full 20 kilometres for the main favourites to come back together. Around 35 riders did go clear of the main bunch, and Wellens used all his experience to sit in the wheels and not offer up turns until launching his decisive attack, where the road continued to rise after the summit of the final categorised climb. It was Wellens' first Grand Tour stage win since he won two stages of the 2020 Vuelta a Espana to add to his two Giro d'Italia stage victories.
The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘I'm very open-minded' – Max Verstappen hints at 2026 plans amid speculation he will quit Red Bull for Mercedes
MAX VERSTAPPEN revealed he is "very open-minded" about Formula One's massive regulation reset next season. Teams are now solely focusing on the biggest regulation change in F1 history with nearly every technical classification being ripped up. 3 The last big reset happened after Verstappen pipped Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 world title in the most dramatic season finale of all time. And Red Bull came out best again, rising from the ashes of the controversy to replace Mercedes as the team to beat in the Constructors championship. The new and bigger changes are set to establish a brand new pecking order with the rumour mill predicting Mercedes could regain their old supremacy next season. For Verstappen and Red Bull, the new package creates a chance to re-establish itself as the benchmark in F1 after being dethroned by McLaren this time last year. There has been speculation that Verstappen could defect to Mercedes, with team principal Toto Wolff confirming that talks had gone on behind closed doors. But Verstappen remained coy when asked about his plans for next season, insisting that he'll "figure it out" no matter the team. The four time world champion told RacingNews365:"I'm in the middle. Maybe it'll be good, maybe it'll be bad – we'll see. "I'm very open-minded, honestly. I don't even think about it too much – I'm just enjoying the moment. 3 "When I sit in the car next year, we'll figure it out. I'm not making the rules anyway. "Even if I have my concerns, it's not going to change anything. Glamorous TikToker Bianca Bustamante gives behind-the-scenes look at a Formula E race week "So I'll just jump in and drive it, and then we'll, along the way, get better at it, understand it better, like any regulation in the past. "You keep optimising, keep improving, and then just go from there, really." Mercedes are yet to offer No1 driver George Russell, 27, a new contract to his deal that expires at the end of the season, but the Brit could yet stay to maybe partner Verstappen in 2026. Red Bull will enter a new era in a technical partnership with Ford as they build their own Red Bull Powertrains engine. The Milton-Keynes based outfit sensationally sacked boss Christian Horner after 20 years in charge last week. Laurent Mekies has been appointed as the new CEO, stepping up from the Racing Bulls team. Drivers are currently enjoying a mini summer break, with the next race due to commence in Belgium on July 27. Verstappen currently sits 69 points behind Drivers Championship leader Oscar Piastri, who only sits eight points above team-mate Lando Norris. 3
BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wellens cruises to maiden Tour win on stage 15
Belgian champion Tim Wellens claimed his first Tour de France stage victory with a breakaway win on stage UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider has done a lot of work for race leader Tadej Pogacar in the opening two weeks of the Tour but, freed from his domestique duties for the day, attacked on the final climb of the hilly 169.3km ride from Muret to 34-year-old ultimately won by one minute 28 seconds, with fellow Belgian Victor Campenaerts finishing second and Julian Alaphilippe team-mate Tadej Pogacar crossed six minutes later in the peloton to maintain his lead of four minutes 13 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification standings. "It is a very special victory," said Wellens. "Everybody knows the Tour de France but not many people win in the Tour de France, so it was very beautiful."I felt super good today. On the last climb of the day I felt really good. I knew the others felt really good but I knew I had to go solo. At the top of the climb I found my moment and I felt I had the legs to keep it to the end."I knew I had to enjoy the moment and kept riding until the end so I had a big gap to enjoy it and maybe put my bike in the air after the finish - but I was so happy I forgot to do it." Stage 15 results Tim Willens (Bel/UAE Emirates XRG) 3hrs 34mins 9secsVictor Campenaerts (Bel/Visma-Lease a bike) +1min 28secsJulian Alaphilippe (Fra/Tudor) +1min 36secsWout Van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a bike) Same timeAxel Laurance (Fra/Ineos Grenadiers)Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)Jasper Stuyven (Bel/Lidl-Trek)Jordan Jegat (Fra/TotalEnergies)Michael Valgren (Den/EF Education-EasyPost)Valentin Madouas (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)
