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Hugo Ekitike is flying out to Hong Kong to meet up with his new Liverpool teammates(Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

Liverpool have announced that latest summer signing Hugo Ekitike is to take the No.54 shirt as a temporary placeholder.

The Reds announced the striker's £79m transfer on Wednesday night, now he is en route to Hong Kong to meet up with his new squad for their pre-season tour of Asia.

The Reds completed the deal by paying £69m up front with a further £10m in potential add-ons.



Ekitike, a target believed to have been sounded out in January, arrives having scored 22 goals in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt and at 23 years of age there is great promise that he can grow to flourish in Arne Slot's system.

The final details for him becoming the third-most expensive signing in the Reds' history were hashed out in London, allowing him to hop on a plane to the Far East to soon get stuck into the action ahead of the new season.

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In unveiling their new striker Liverpool clarified that the squad number he will take is to be locked in at a later date, as the same had been said for the six prior arrivals this summer.

But those six players had also been given temporary numbers to be worn in the several warm-up fixtures scheduled this summer.

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Liverpool have now followed suit with Ekitike by confirming the No.54 is his for the time being, and reiterated: "Ekitike’s permanent official shirt number will be confirmed soon."

Slot's other new recruits, as clarified before the Preston North End friendly, are wearing the following numbers; Freddie Woodman 55, Giorgi Mamardashvili 56, Milos Kerkez 57, Florian Wirtz 58, Jeremie Frimpong 59, Armin Pecsi 60.

A squad largely made up of senior stars made their way to Hong Kong at the start of the week, where they are set to face AC Milan at the Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, July 26.

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There is potential for Ekitike to make his Reds bow in this game though it would have to be a tight turnaround from his 12-hour flight and minimal time spent with his new team.

The Frenchman has almost two-and-a-half weeks of training under his belt having reported for duty at former club Frankfurt but sat out of their opening friendly last weekend.

If Ekitike does not feature in Hong Kong then there will always be the opportunity to make his debut against Yokohama F Marinos on the second leg of the tour in Japan, with that clash scheduled for Wednesday, July 30.


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