Liverpool have agreed to pay an initial £69 million for Ekitike, with up to £10 million in add-ons also on the table. The Reds turned to the French striker after briefly exploring a move for Newcastle's Alexander Isak, who Ekitike might have replaced if Isak had left St James' Park.
Newcastle were actually seen as early frontrunners for Ekitike, a player they tried to sign back in 2022. But any real chance of that deal happening this time around depended on Isak leaving, which now looks unlikely.
So instead, Ekitike is heading to Anfield. According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, the former PSG forward is starting his medical today and has already agreed a six-year contract with Liverpool, keeping him at the club until 2031. His wages are reportedly up to €15 million a year (around £13 million), a figure that puts him among the club’s highest earners.
If he ends up earning that full amount, only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk will be on more. That even puts Ekitike ahead of Florian Wirtz, who also joined this summer and is reportedly earning just over £10 million a year.
Ekitike becomes Liverpool’s seventh signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Armin Pecsi, Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Freddie Woodman. However, he will not be joining the squad on their pre-season tour of Asia.
He leaves Frankfurt with an impressive record of 26 goals and 14 assists in just 64 appearances, including 22 goals in the 2024–25 season alone.
