'Negative' Hugo Ekitike response from Frankfurt with Liverpool already looking at replacement starlet
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media, Imago
Oliver Walton
Thu 28 August 2025 18:46, UK
Liverpool are already eyeing up Hugo Ekitike’s replacement at his old club Eintracht Frankfurt as the German side appear to have long-forgotten him already.
Ekitike’s future was the subject of intense speculation at the start of the summer window with a number of Premier League clubs linked to his services.
The 23-year-old scored 15 times in 33 Bundesliga appearances for Frankfurt last season, and despite interest from numerous sides, Ekitike chose to join Liverpool last month after they offered him the best personal terms of any club.
Ekitike’s move to Liverpool was confirmed in July, with the deal to take him to Anfield reportedly worth around £69million up-front [BBC] as Arne Slot continued his big summer spending following the additions of Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
He scored on his debut for the Reds against Crystal Palace, and has since netted further strikes against Bournemouth and Newcastle, but Liverpool already look to be sizing up another player who could come in to replace him soon.
(Credit Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)
Ekitike was a key player for Frankfurt, but they don’t look to missing him so far this term with two wins and nine goals scored in their first two games of the new campaign.
According to a new report from the Daily Mail (28 August), their sources at the Bundesliga gave a “negative” response to whether they are missing Ekitike, due to the emergence of young Turkish forward Can Uzun.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
Uzun has one goal and two assists in two appearances so far this season, and the same source has told the Mail that Liverpool and other Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on him as the next big star to emerge out of Frankfurt’s ranks.
Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media
Football Insider verdict
While Uzun may well find his way to the Reds in the years to come, Slot need not worry about replacing Ekitike right now after his electric start to life on Merseyside.
The Frenchman has taken it all in his stride, and does not seem to be affected by any outside noise of Liverpool still being interested in a move for Alexander Isak in the final week of the transfer window.
AppearancesGoalsAssists642614Ekitike’s Frankfurt career stats
All three of his goals have been very well-taken, and he has already instantly improved their forward line after the sale of Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal earlier in the summer.
Whether he can keep up this kind of form is uncertain, but right now there looks to no stopping him as Liverpool aim to win a successive title under Slot.
The capture of Isak could slow his form down if he is shifted out to the left-wing, but the Reds will know that Ekitike’s versatility allows him to play across the forward line, and a deal for the Swede is far from complete, so that is an argument to save until after it is possibly sealed.