Chelsea have ramped up their pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike in the last few hours, according to reports in France.
Ekitike joined Eintracht on a permanent basis from PSG last summer and the 22-year-old hit new heights across an eye-catching Bundesliga campaign, notching 15 goals and eight assists in 33 appearances.
The forward earned himself plenty of admirers with his goalscoring exploits in his first full season in German football and speculation has been mounting that a big-money move could be around the corner.
Arsenal and Liverpool have been keeping close tabs on Ekitike’s progress and both clubs are believed to have made initial enquiries over a proposed bid for the Frenchman.
But according to L’Equipe, Chelsea have attempted to steal a march on their Premier League rivals by accelerating their efforts to sign the attacker ‘in recent hours’.
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The report claims Ekitike is considering his future and mulling over his options after being ruled out of France’s European Under-21 Championship campaign with a back problem.
It’s understood Eintracht are aware of the strong interest in Ekitike and have responded by slapping a £60million price tag on their prized possession.
Ekitike’s current contract in Frankfurt runs through to June 2029.
Eintracht would be in line to make a significant profit from the sale of Ekitike considering they signed the striker from PSG for a fee of around £14m last summer.
In a recent interview with Sport1, Eintracht’s sporting director, Markus Krosche, confirmed Ekitike could be allowed to leave if the club’s demands are met by a potential suitor.
‘He’s one of the most interesting strikers on the European market,’ Krosche said.
‘Hugo has to decide that [his future]. I’m glad we have him.
‘If he decides otherwise, that’s our belief: if a player develops faster than us, then we let him go – as long as our demands are met.’
Chelsea are targeting Ekitike in addition to Ipswich striker Liam Delap, who is set to be announced by the west London giants imminently.
Delap has agreed to a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge and joins the Europa Conference League winners for a fee of £30million.
The Blues are eager to strengthen their attack with the addition of one or two genuine difference-makers to ease the pressure on Nicolas Jackson, who managed just ten league goals last term.
Dario Essugo, 20, became Chelsea’s first signing of the summer on Sunday, with the 20-year-old midfielder joining on an eight-year contract from Sporting.
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