Officially Joins Liverpool, Hugo Ekitike Immediately Follows Asia To Join The Pre-season Tour

Liverpool's new Liverpool player Hugo Ekitike. (liverpoolfc.com)

Liverpool have added more forwards after successfully bringing in striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt. After officially joining, Ekitike immediately flew to Asia following a team-mate who was on a pre-season tour in Asia.

Liverpool menunjukkan sebagai tim yang punya uang dengan mengumpulkan banyak pemain untuk menghadapi kompetisi musim anyar. Kontras dengan situasi tim di musim lalu saat ditinggalkan manajer Juergen Klopp.

Together with new manager Arne Slot, Liverpool did not buy players. Despite relying on old players, Slot instead brought Liverpool to stop Manchester City's dominance.

Not only that, Liverpool can be escorted to win the English Premier League title for the 20th time as well as equal to Manchester United's record.

After Slot proved his performance, Liverpool also provided funds to meet the needs of the squad. Moreover, Liverpool experienced the tragedy of the death of forward Diogo Jota in a car accident. In the midst of grief, the Reds continued to hunt down players.

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who has been bought from Valencia since last year, has only joined Liverpool starting this season. Furthermore, Liverpool brought in duo Bayer Leverkusen, Jeremie Frimpong, and Florian Wirtz.

Hungarian defender Milos Kerkez joined after being bought from Bournemouth. Kerkez followed his compatriot, Dominik Szoboszlai, who became Hungary's first player to play for Liverpool.

Still not satisfied, Liverpool then brought Ekitike for 69 million pounds plus a bonus of 10 million pounds. At that price, Ekitike became the second most expensive signing after Wirtz, which was bought at a price of 100 million pounds plus bonuses while breaking the club's record transfer.

Liverpool spent at least 300 million pounds to buy players. However, the purchase of players is balanced with the sale of players. Yes, Liverpool have released Jarell Quansah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Caoimhin Kelekera which makes them able to save up to 350 million pounds.

Ekitike did not linger at Anfield. After undergoing a medical test and signing a contract, he immediately left for Hong Kong.

Although he has not received a back number, the player who has played for the French U-20 national team may make his debut against AC Milan in the pre-season match.

"The 23-year-old has completed a medical test and reached a personal agreement with the Reds. He is also allowed to fly to Hong Kong to join his team-mates on a pre-season tour in Asia," the club said in a statement.

Ekitike started showing off on the football stage while playing at French Ligue 1 club Reims in 2020. Only two years later, he was loaned to Paris Saint Germain and later earned a permanent contract from the Ligue 1 giant in 2023.

But he failed to penetrate the first team and was loaned to Frankfurt in 2024. Ekitike immediately moncer while playing in the German Bundesliga by scoring 15 goals for 33 times against Frankfurt. He also scored four goals while bringing Frankfurt to the Europa League quarter-finals.

Liverpool themselves competed fiercely with Newcastle United and Manchester United to get Ekitike. The transfer had experienced saga before he finally landed at Anfield.