- Ekitike is a ‘serious’ option at the Emirates, and the 23-year-old Frenchman will come to the fore should the Gunners give up hope of landing either Gyokeres or Sesko
- If the price isn’t right, then he’ll just stay with us,’ Eintracht sporting director Markus Krosche
- The loss of both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to injury last season only amplified calls for Arsenal to strengthen in the transfer market.
Arsenal has joined Chelsea and Liverpool in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s 23-year-old French striker Hugo Ekitike.
In recent weeks, Softball has reported that Arsenal have been prioritising two players in their bid to sign a new number nine: Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres, but despite inroads having been made for both, a deal for either is not close to being completed.
And this has led to other players being placed on Arsenal’s radar, and one of those is now being considered is Hugo Ekitike.
The loss of both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to injury last season only amplified calls for Arsenal to strengthen in the transfer market, and there is mounting pressure on sporting director Andrea Berta to find a solution up front.
Viktor Gyokeres, 27, has been placed at the top of Arsenal’s wishlist on the back of an exceptional season in Portuguese football, in which he scored 54 goals in 52 games to help Sporting win a domestic double.
However, Sporting’s flat-out refusal to lower their demands for Gyokeres has complicated Arsenal’s pursuit of the prolific Swede, prompting the Gunners to strongly consider RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko as an alternative.
But Arsenal have encountered similar difficulties in their attempts to hash out a deal for Sesko, 22, with Leipzig rejecting the north Londoners’ opening bid worth around (£46.8m) – plus €10m (£8.5m) add-ons – for the Slovenia international.
It’s understood the Bundesliga outfit are holding out for an offer of between €80m and €100m (£68m and £85m) for their star striker.
According to German publication Bild, this has led Arsenal to ‘suddenly’ turn their attentions to Ekitike, who enjoyed an eye-catching first full season with Eintracht last term.
The report claims Ekitike is a ‘serious’ option at the Emirates and the 23-year-old Frenchman will come to the fore should the Gunners give up hope of landing either Gyokeres or Sesko.
As has been the case with both Gyokeres and Sesko, though, Ekitike’s asking price could prove problematic as Eintracht are said to be demanding an eye-watering fee of €100m (£85m) from potential suitors.
Eintracht sporting director Markus Krosche told Wiesbadener Kurier when quizzed on Ekitike’s future earlier this month.
If the price isn’t right, then he’ll just stay with us, We don’t have to sell Hugo.
While Krosche has refused to rule out the possibility that Ekitike could leave, he insists a sale will only be possible if Eintracht’s demands for the ‘exceptional’ striker are met in full this summer.
Earlier, Softfootball reported that Arsenal got major Viktor Gyokeres transfer boost following ‘£17m bid’ for striker after claims that Sporting are looking at Union Saint-Gilloise striker Franjo Ivanovic for his replacement after the Swede made it clear he wants to leave the club.
For now, it remains to be seen how things play out with Arsenal’s striker search. Panic is not setting in yet, but there will be some frustrations at the lack of progress having been made in deals that are being worked on.
