Liverpool have bought Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69m and believe they have brought in a player who could become one of the best forwards in the world.
The Frenchman, whose fee could rise to £79m depending on bonuses, has signed a six-year contract at Anfield after passing a medical.
Liverpool saw off late interest from Manchester United for the 23-year-old, while Newcastle had offered £70m for Ekitike, which Eintracht rejected.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward, who told United he had no interest in joining them when director of recruitment Christopher Vivell contacted Frankfurt, was a long-term target for Liverpool, who had been in contact with his representatives for six months, while Arne Slot spoke to him at the end of the season.
Ekitike becomes Liverpool’s fourth major summer signing and takes their spending to £250m – and up to £300m, including potential add-ons and the deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili, which was sealed last summer.
Liverpool have also bought Florian Wirtz for a club record £100m and full-backs Milos Kerez and Jeremie Frimpong.
Liverpool had also made an inquiry for Alexander Isak, who Newcastle did not want to sell, but believe they were pursuing Ekitike before the Carabao Cup winners turned to him after failing in attempts to sign Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, who both joined Chelsea instead.
But they were reluctant to get involved in an auction and waited before making a late move, as they had when they took the Tottenham target Luis Diaz from Porto in 2022.
Liverpool see Ekitike as a multi-functional forward who, though largely a No 9, can also play in deeper and wider roles and think that only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have shown more potential among strikers of such age.
Ekitike scored 22 goals for Eintracht last season, though Liverpool believe his impact was greater than that and he has the potential to become more prolific.
