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Liverpool have completed the signing of striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal that could be worth £79m.

Ekitike underwent a medical on Tuesday in London before putting the finishing touches on a six-year deal and he will now fly out to join his new team-mates on the Hong Kong leg of their pre-season tour of Asia.

The striker could make his unofficial debut when the Reds meet AC Milan at the Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, although it is more likely he will be fielded when the Premier League champions are hosted by Yokohama F Marinos in Japan next week.

The France Under-21 international becomes the seventh signing of the summer after deals were completed for Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez in a busy June that also saw goalkeepers Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman arrive alongside Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose £29m agreement with Valencia was struck last year.

READ MORE:Liverpool change in transfer plan explained as verdict shared on £300m arrivalsREAD MORE:Liverpool transfer intrigue grows over missing forward as new multi-year deal announced

Newcastle United failed in a bid worth around £70m last week before Liverpool swooped to bring Ekitike to Anfield in a deal that makes him, inclusive of add-ons, the club's third most expensive player of all time behind £116m Wirtz and Darwin Nunez,

The broad outline of the terms was agreed on Saturday before a full agreement was finally reached on Monday ahead of Tuesday's medical and the deal takes Liverpool's spending this summer close to the £300m mark.

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The Reds will pay Frankfurt an initial £69m with a further £10m in success-based add-ons for a player who scored 22 goals and claimed 12 assists last year.

The terms are being viewed internally as similar to the £16m worth of fees due to Bayer Leverkusen if new club-record signing Wirtz becomes a major hit on Merseyside.

Ekitike, who had also been courted by Chelsea and Manchester United, joined Frankfurt initially on loan from Paris Saint-Germain before completing a permanent deal last summer for around £15m and his performances last time out put a slew of major European clubs on notice.

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Liverpool are believed to have initially sounded out the 23-year-old's availability in January, before stepping up their interest in May, having wrapped up the Premier League title with a month to spare to allow Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes more time to work on deals for what has since become the most expensive transfer window of all time on Merseyside.

Attention is now expected to turn to outgoings, with Darwin Nunez still the subject of interest from Serie A and the Saudi Pro League, while Bayern Munich are likely to return with an improved offer for Luis Diaz having seen a bid short of £60m rejected last week.

Federico Chiesa, meanwhile, has been left off the club's tour of Hong Kong and Japan due to a minor fitness concern but the Italy international has been linked with a return to his homeland after barely featuring last season.


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