Liverpool have agreed a £69m deal with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign striker Hugo Ekitike.
The fee could rise to £79m if add-ons are triggered and the French forward is set to become their fourth summer signing.
Ekitike will travel to Merseyside for a medical and will sign a six-year deal, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
Liverpool hope the 23-year-old will be able to fly to Asia to link up with his new teammates on their pre-season tour. Sporting director Richard Hughes has remained behind in England to complete the deal, along with some of Liverpool’s medical staff.
Liverpool entered into advanced talks with Frankfurt last week after making an inquiry with Newcastle for Alexander Isak, who United do not want to sell.
While Ekitike had an £86m release clause in his deal with Frankfurt, Liverpool were able to negotiate a lower fee. The £10m in add-ons are dependent on which trophies Liverpool win and the extent of Ekitike’s contribution.
Newcastle had also offered £70m for the former Paris Saint-Germain player but without the add-ons while Ekitike made it clear his preference was to go to Liverpool.
He scored 22 goals last season, including 15 in the Bundesliga, and joins when there are doubts about the futures of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, who has been the subject of a bid from Bayern Munich.
Ekitike’s arrival will take Liverpool’s summer spending towards the £250m mark – with the potential for it to rise due to add-ons – after the signings of full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez and the club-record £100m move for Florian Wirtz.
Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was bought last summer, has also joined them after spending a season back on loan at Valencia.
