When moving to Eintracht Frankfurt, attacker Hugo Ekitiké also relied on the advice of his ex-teammate Kylian Mbappé.
“He recommended that I take the next step in my career,” said the 21-year-old when he was introduced on Wednesday. Since his first contact with the Hessians in the summer, he has written to Mbappé “again and again.”
Thanks to the superstar with whom he last played at Paris Saint-Germain, he is also “a better footballer and a better person”.
Mbappé gave him “a lot of tips so that I can improve,” said Ekitiké, whom Eintracht had signed as a replacement for Randal Kolo Muani on the home stretch of the winter transfer window.
Ekitiké wasn’t used in Paris recently; it “didn’t work out” for him there, said the striker.
But this is part of a career. “I can only learn from it. It was a good lesson. Now I’m here and I want the best for the club,” said Ekitiké. The move to Frankfurt on loan until the end of the season is “an important step and the right decision” for his career.
Ekitiké made his debut after coming on in the game at 1. FC Köln (0-2) last weekend.
The Frenchman said he was now trying to “get back into the rhythm that I need”: “I want to have fun and joy on the pitch again.” Eintracht welcomes VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday (3:30 p.m.).