Arne Slot has opted to ignore ‘alarming’ Hugo Ekitike fitness issue which might worsen in the Premier League

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Liverpool are close to making Hugo Ekitike one of the most expensive arrivals in their history.

Having already smashed their transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz in a £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen, the Reds are now set to make the French striker their third-most costly signing.

• Florian Wirtz – £116m
• Virgil van Dijk – £75m
• Hugo Ekitike – £69m
• Alisson Becker – £66.8m
• Darwin Nunez – £64m

TBR Football understand Ekitike is seriously excited to work under Arne Slot – and feels the transfer could help him travel to the 2026 World Cup with France.

The feeling is mutual after the Reims-born forward scored 22 goals in 48 appearances last season, also notching 12 assists.

However, Joseph Johnson and Jon Mason – Strength and Conditioning Coaches at Martin Nugent Elite Performance – have already flagged up an issue involving Hugo Ekitike which may concern some Liverpool fans.

Liverpool told Hugo Ekitike has an “alarming” issue which Premier League football could exacerbate

Back in June 2022 when Newcastle were pushing to sign the France U21 international, the pair spoke to the Chronicle about his hamstring troubles.

They said: “Hamstring injuries are the most common in football and also have the highest rate of reoccurrence too. Ekitike suffered quite a large grade two hamstring tear back in February (2022) and this alone takes, usually, a minimum of four to eight weeks to recover.

However, after the 23-year-old returned to action prematurely for Reims, they added: “This is quite a short period of time to recover from such an injury, so you’d have to ask how strong his hamstring was when he returned to match play. Having worked with players from European teams before, they tend not to be that focused on lifting weights. With this in mind it would be interesting to know how much gym work he completed within his rehab, and subsequently how much force his hamstrings are producing.

“If he hasn’t completed a thorough rehab protocol, his hamstring may always be weaker, and as a result, be at an increased risk of injury throughout his career. If his body is struggling to cope with the training or match load now – in a league (Ligue 1) which is supposedly slower and less explosive than that of the Premier League, and at such a young age – it would be interesting to see how he would cope moving forward as he ages. The fact this is his first full season as a first-team professional and he has had this many injuries is alarming.”

Ekitike is a uniquely built footballer, possessing long, spindly legs but rapid pace – the type of rare blend that led Lionel Messi to nickname him “the iron rod” at PSG.

Liverpool have already shown they have no qualms over cancelling a deal

Ekitike is understood to be undergoing his medical today (Tuesday 22nd July) – and if Liverpool are unhappy about anything flagged up during this examination, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the deal collapse.

Liverpool famously vetoed the £53m signing of Nabil Fekir from Lyon back in June 2018 after becoming aware of a knee issue, once the Frenchman had carried out his medical.

Therefore, if something similar occurs during Ekitike’s medical check, those at Anfield could well send him back to Frankfurt.