Frankfurt Fume as Liverpool Close in on £79m Ekitike Deal

Eintracht Frankfurt are reportedly annoyed with one of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals after the manner in which they chased a deal for Hugo Ekitike in the summer transfer window. This week, the ECHO has reported how the Reds have managed to secure a move for the French striker.

A bid worth £79m, including add-ons, was accepted on Monday and the forward flew into London to complete his medical with Liverpool on Tuesday. On Monday, it was confirmed that Ekitike would not be travelling with the Frankfurt team for their pre-season tour of the United States, which only fuels speculation that his arrival on Merseyside is imminent.

It is understood that once he completes his medical test, Ekitike will fly out to Asia to join his new teammates and be unveiled as a Red. With the transfer saga now over, reports in Germany suggest that Eintracht Frankfurt have been left disgruntled by the manner in which their forward is leaving.

However, instead of harbouring any ill will towards Liverpool, it is believed to be Newcastle United who have felt the brunt of the German side’s anger. According to SportBILD, as relayed by Sport Witness, Eintracht Frankfurt had informed clubs that were showing an interest in Ekitike that they expected him to leave.

They insisted that a personal agreement with Ekitike must be made before approaching the Bundesliga club. Unfortunately for Newcastle, they were not expected to bid on the 23-year-old this summer and were unaware of this prerequisite.

As such, when Newcastle launched a bid that was worth the same as Liverpool’s but had not reached an agreement with Ekitike prior, Eintracht Frankfurt saw this as a slight against them and their wishes. To add insult to injury, Ekitike informed Eintracht Frankfurt that he did not wish to move to St James’ Park, and the deal would not get off the ground.

All of this proved to be to the benefit of Liverpool, who are now on the verge of signing Ekitike. As for the Magpies, they are left nervously waiting on Alexander Isak’s future after Eddie Howe failed to confirm that he would be staying in the north-east, albeit he felt it was more likely than not he would stay.