Asked for many top clubs
© Imago
Eintracht Frankfurt’s sports director Markus Krösche must fear a departure from top striker Hugo Ekitiké this summer. “He is one of the most interesting strikers on the European market. Hugo has to decide. I am glad that we have him. If he decides differently, our credo is: If a player develops faster than we do, we let him go,” said Krösche at “Sport1”.
The 22-year-old still has a long-term contract with the Hesse until summer 2029. But even the successful qualification for the Champions League could be too little to keep Ekitiké. Krösche pulled in parallels to the transfer of Omar Marmoush, who had left Eintracht in winter for 75 million euros and switched to Manchester City. In the course of the season, Ekitiké has already increased its market value from 20 million to 55 million euros, which is one of the 100 most valuable footballers worldwide – another update is still pending on June 5 (discussed here).
Several Premier League clubs are said to be interested in the French U21 international. When asked which transfer fee Frankfurt would like to achieve in a sale, Krösche said mysteriously: “You will see.” FC Liverpool, FC Arsenal, Manchester United, FC Chelsea and Manchester City have already been associated with Ekitiké in the TM rumor mill.
Before Marmoush, Frankfurt also sold Randal Kolo Muani (for EUR 95 million to PSG) and Luka Jović (for 63 million euros to Real Madrid) for a lot of money at international top clubs and thus achieved massive transfer surpluses. Ekitiké scored 15 goals in the end of the season and prepared nine more. The striker contributed significantly to the team of coach Dino Toppmöller that the first royal class feed was realized via the Bundesliga table.
