HUGO EKITIKE is expected to be confirmed as Arne Slot’s latest signing this week after a £79million deal was agreed with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The arrival of the France striker, 23, will take Liverpool boss Slot’s summer spending spree to £270m — and he still wants Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi to partner Virgil van Dijk at the back.
Ekitike is poised to have a medical over the next 48 hours, with a six-year deal already agreed.
Any doubt the frontman would not be moving to Anfield was killed when Eintracht boss Dino Toppmoller left Ekitike out of Saturday’s 3-2 friendly defeat by FSV Frankfurt.
Toppmoller, 44, said: “He didn’t play but you can imagine everything else. It is a bitter loss. We lost our absolute top player in the winter with Omar Marmoush.
“The other player stepped in and developed sensationally. It’s quite possible that that’s history, too.”
Former Paris Saint-Germain player Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games last season to help Frankfurt qualify for the Champions League.
He arrives at Anfield for a £69m initial fee plus £10m in add-ons.
Liverpool moved for Ekitike after accepting that Newcastle would not budge on their £150m valuation of top target Alexander Isak — with the Reds only prepared to go to a maximum of £120m.
Slot and his squad flew to Hong Kong last night after a behind-closed-doors friendly with Stoke and will play AC Milan on Saturday.
Ekitike could link up with his new team-mates before the game against Yokohama F Marinos in Japan on July 30.
Liverpool plan on recouping a big chunk of this summer’s spectacular cash splurge — having already paid Bayer Leverkusen £100m for playmaker Florian Wirtz and a further £101m on Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Armin Pecsi, plus freebie Freddie Woodman.
One of the most prominent sales could be that of winger Luis Diaz — the subject of a £58.6m bid by Bayern Munich.
That was rejected but the Bundesliga giants will return with an offer over £60m, the Colombia forward revealing that his representatives are talking with other clubs and hinting he is open to leaving.
Darwin Nunez is a £65m target of Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal and will be sold to the highest bidder.
He scored a hat-trick against the Potters before the squad flew out, with Wirtz playing in the first half.
Harvey Elliott, either Kostas Tsimikas or Andy Robertson, plus Ibrahima Konate and Federico Chiesa are all names in Slot’s out tray to help balance the books.
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