Hugo Ekitike: A Data-Driven Look at Liverpool’s Potential New Number Nine

… and how he compares to Europe’s elite forwards

Written on 20/07/2025

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt on a fee for French striker Hugo Ekitike ahead of a potential move in this transfer window. I won't bother stating the exact figure, as people seem to convert currencies to suit whatever narrative they are pushing. Yes, we do live in a weird world!

It is well known to all of us that the Reds have been in the market for a new number nine. It would be highly surprising if Darwin Núñez stays at the club beyond this summer, and there is a fair chance that Luis Diaz gets his move away as well. I did an article on the latter and looked at the data-based reasons why the club are relaxed about his future. You can check that out here.

Coming back to Ekitike, Newcastle had been trying to close a deal to sign him until a few days ago. However, the Frenchman has always wanted Liverpool. The Geordies, on the other hand, are still scrambling to keep hold of their star man Alexander Isak, with the Reds still on the table to potentially sign the Swedish international as well.

Why are Liverpool so active in recruiting in the forward line, you ask? It is because the club are bracing themselves to lose Diaz and Núñez. There is a fair chance Federico Chiesa is off too. Moreover, the tragic passing of Diogo Jota (bless his soul) means Arne Slot will be short in that department.

Let’s focus on Ekitike now and look at the numbers behind why the Reds are committing big money on him to come good in the present and the future.

Coming good after struggles at PSG

Ekitike was a youth product at Stade Reims and made his senior debut there in 2021 before making an initial loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2022. He then made a permanent move to the French capital a year later. In a star-studded PSG forward line, the 23-year-old struggled to get regular game time during the one-and-a-half seasons he was there. He only managed 1,404 minutes of football in all competitions in that time, scoring four goals and assisting four.

In the January window of 2024, the Frenchman made a loan move to Frankfurt (which was made permanent the following summer). He has made 64 appearances in all competitions since then, scoring 26 goals and assisting 14. Despite joining late in January 2024, he managed to make 14 league appearances in the second half of the 2023/24 season.

So, since arriving in Germany, Ekitike is averaging 0.625 goal contribution per game, which is decent going for a player who had to leave a bigger club in PSG (with all due respect to Frankfurt) to kickstart his career, which was stalling in his very early 20s.

I feel that, beyond all the data and metric-tallying, Liverpool tend to favour players in the 23–25 age range who have faced some footballing adversity in their careers and found a way to overcome it to get back on an upward trajectory. Ekitike fits that mould to an extent. He is a player who has had to scrap his way back onto the right path after struggling at a big club and is now on his way to becoming very good.

2024/25 Season numbers

This section covers Ekitike’s numbers from the 2024/25 season and where it stands among strikers and wide forwards in Europe’s top-5 leagues.

With 0.77 non-penalty goals + assists, Ekitike boasts one of the best goal contribution returns among his positional peers in Europe’s big leagues. His circle (for the non-penalty goals + assists axis) in the visual is closely accompanied by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Alexander Isak, and others.