Man Utd too late as £78m Liverpool ‘deal in place’ after Arne Slot gets involved

Manchester United did not stand a chance of signing Hugo Ekitike ahead of Liverpool, according to a report, as Arne Slot’s influence on the striker’s decision amid interest from Ruben Amorim comes to light.

Both Liverpool and Man Utd are on the hunt for a new striker in the summer transfer window. While Liverpool manager Slot needs to find a marksman who is more prolific than Darwin Nunez, Man Utd boss Amorim realised last season that he cannot rely on Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee to score the goals needed to finish in the Premier League top five.

TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, has consistently reported that Alexander Isak is Slot’s ‘dream signing’ at Liverpool.

However, after Newcastle United decided to stand firm on their ‘not for sale’ stance, Liverpool ramped up their pursuit of Ekitike and have already agreed a £78million deal with his club Eintracht Frankfurt.

Trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on X about Liverpool and Ekitike on July 20: “Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool, here we go!

“Deal in place for fee over €90million (£78m / $105million) for the French striker to join from Eintracht Frankfurt, potentially reaching €95million (£82m / $110m).

“Six year deal for Ekitike, valid until June 2031; he only wanted Liverpool move. New striker for Slot.”

A French source revealed last week that Man Utd made a move for Ekitike, but the striker ‘rebuffed their approach’.

Another French news outlet, L’Equipe, has now added more insight and has revealed that Man Utd were too late in making an approach for the 23-year-old French striker.

In an extensive report, it has been claimed that Ekitike’s mind about a move to Liverpool was made up long before Man Utd came knocking for him.

With Newcastle also pushing for the 23-year-old striker, Liverpool manager Slot got involved and had a direct conversation with the Frankfurt striker.

In a video call with Ekitike, Slot sold him his vision of a 4-2-3-1 system next season and an evolution of Liverpool’s game-plan.

Slot wants a striker who is creative, mobile and versatile who can make the possession sequences in his system better, and the Liverpool manager’s plan convinced Ekitike.

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Hugo Ekitike described as ‘world class’

Liverpool fans are over the moon that Ekitike is on his way to Anfield, and one suspects that the Anfield faithful will be even more thrilled to learn what club legend Steve Nicol thinks of the former PSG striker.

Nicol said about Ekitike on ESPN FC last week: “I think Isak would be my first option, but only slightly behind Isak is Ekitike.

“This guy can score every type of goal possible. He doesn’t just score goals in the penalty box, he scores goals from outside the box as well.

“He links play up, he sets people off, he scores goals with his head, he can do everything.

“So, if Liverpool don’t get Isak and they’ve got to take Ekitike, I for one wouldn’t have a problem with it.

“It would be, what, £30m less than Isak, he’s younger than Isak, you can’t lose.

“Whichever way you go, whether it’s Ekitike or Isak, Liverpool don’t lose. They get an absolutely world-class talent.”

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A report has outlined the qualities of Ekitike, as Liverpool fans learn how the striker could be a massive hit at the Premier League champions.

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