Thierry Henry made honest Hugo Ektike admission as Liverpool steps up transfer chase

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Theirry Henry believes Hugo Ekitike has a 'very high ceiling', according to his fellow CBS pundit Micah Richards.

It feels increasingly likely that the Eintracht Frankfurt man is heading to England and will play in the Premier League next season after Liverpool reportedly approached the Bundesliga club to enquire about Ekitike’s availability.

The Athletic claims Frankfurt 'received an approach' from the Reds on Wednesday, a day after Liverpool also checked on Alexander Isak’s situation at Newcastle United. Although no bid was lodged, the Premier League champions checked on his availability as plans to sign a striker accelerate rapidly.

Ekitike could be the man to lead the line for Liverpool this season, with Darwin Nunez still expected to move on. Henry, a connoisseur of French soccer, and the country’s Under-21 coach for a year between 2023 and 2024, will be fully aware of Ekitike’s talents, although he did not actually select the potential new Liverpool striker during his time with France.

Speaking in an episode of Rest Is Football last month, Richards said Henry was not fully convinced of Ekitike’s talents.

"In terms of Ekitike, I’ve spoken to Thierry about him a lot,” said the former Manchester City defender.

"He says he’s not [necessarily] a frustrating player, but one minute he looks amazing and the next minute he does not do the basics very well.

(Image: Getty)

"He said if he gets it right and improves then his ceiling could be very, very high."

Henry’s opinion may have changed in the year since he departed the France youth-team job, after leading the side to a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. Ekitike, now a regular at Under-21 level for his country, netted 22 goals last season and provided 12 assists in Frankfurt’s counter-attacking side.

Whether he can replicate that form in the Premier League, and for Liverpool, a team that tends to have more possession, is the only concern surrounding this possible transfer.

(Image: 2025 Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)

“It depends on how they want to play. Do they want a striker who can stretch or do they want a striker who is going to come to feet and interlink play?” said Richards.

“Ekitike is not bad on the ball but he’s more of a stretch striker than a [Roberto] Firmino coming in deep and linking play

“Where does Florian Wirtz fit into that? Where does Dominik Szoboszlai fit into that? Where does Luis Diaz potentially fit into that?

“I think they may be looking for more of a player who can drop and Diaz can play a little bit deeper.”

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