Liverpool look set to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt after pushing ahead with a move for the Frenchman.

It has been a busy couple of days in the Reds’ new striker search, with bombshell news that an approach had been made for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak emerging on Tuesday.

However, Newcastle remained steadfast that Isak was not for sale, leaving Liverpool to pivot towards Ekitike instead.

The Reds have now made the first bid for Ekitike, as they look to secure what will still be an incredibly large deal with Eintracht.

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Although supporters may be disappointed not to have landed the club’s first choice signing, their back-up selection still looks like a good one.

And according to former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, Reds fans have reason to be very excited about Ekitike’s likely arrival.

Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images

There is little question that Isak was the player Liverpool supporters wanted to sign as their new number nine this summer.

However, according to Nicol, Ekitike is hardly a downgrade from the Sweden international at all.

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“I think Isak would be my first option but only slightly behind Isak is Ekitike.” argued the Liverpool legend.

“This guy can score every type of goal possible.

He links play up, he sets people off, he scores goals with his head, he can do everything.”

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“So, if Liverpool don’t get Isak and they’ve got to take Ekitike, I for one wouldn’t have a problem with it.

It would be, what, £30m less than Isak, he’s younger than Isak, you can’t lose.

“Whichever way you go, whether it’s Ekitike or Isak, Liverpool don’t lose.

They get an absolutely world-class talent.”

While Liverpool fans should heed Nicol’s words, the former Scotland international did also give a tantalising glimpse into what they could have expected with Isak in the team.

Asked to predict the Reds’ XI with the Newcastle man on board, Nicol gave a mouth-watering insight into what it could have looked like.

“Obviously Isak would start up front, I think he’d have Gakpo on the left hand side and Salah on the right with Wirtz underneath Isak,” he said.

“It would be a 433, but I would expect Mac Allister and Gravenberch to be a lot deeper.

I mean going forward that looks fantastic, it’s got goals everywhere!”

Although we’ll never see this now, replace Isak with Ekitike and it still looks excellent.
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