Hugo Ekitike: £116m Striker in Recovery
Hugo Ekitike hasn’t kicked a ball since April. His Achilles went, his season stopped, and Liverpool’s plans for their new No 9 were ripped up in an instant.
His value? That’s going the other way.
The 24-year-old Frenchman, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for £79million last summer, is now estimated to be worth up to £116m, according to CIES Football Observatory. A player on crutches, a price tag soaring into nine figures. Modern football in one snapshot.
A £116m striker in the treatment room
Ekitike’s first seven months at Anfield justified the initial outlay. Seventeen goals, a constant threat, and the feeling that Liverpool had found their next long-term centre-forward. Then came the rupture in April and the brutal reality of a long-term lay-off.
He is not expected back until late 2026 at the earliest, and there remains the possibility his return slips into next year. Yet the algorithms say his value has climbed.
CIES factor in market inflation, age, performance level, contract situation and what a buying club would realistically need to pay. In Ekitike’s case, the combination is powerful: 24 years old, already proven in a top league, French, and with elite output before injury.
For a club such as Paris Saint-Germain, who have never flinched at triple-figure fees, £116m sits comfortably in the current market landscape. That is the bracket Ekitike has been pushed into, even while he watches from the sidelines.
Of course, that figure is not fixed. A delayed return or any setback could chip away at it. A smooth comeback and a resumption of his pre-injury form would do the opposite.
Iraola’s blunt injury reality
Andoni Iraola, tasked with reshaping Liverpool in his own image, did not sugar-coat the situation when he spoke in July about his long-term absentees.
“In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is [Giovanni] Leoni. After will be Conor [Bradley] and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out,” he said.
Bradley and Ekitike both face lengthy roads back. Alexander Isak, who missed a large chunk of last season with his own issues, suddenly becomes central to everything Liverpool want to do in attack.
They cannot afford another breakdown. Not with Ekitike gone for half the campaign, at best.
Isak, Gakpo and a reshaped front line
Isak is expected to carry the load through the middle, but Iraola has already floated another solution.
“I think Cody can play as a 9. Not tried it pre-season because we don't have enough wingers. He knows what we need from him in his preferred position as a left-winger but I have spoken to him about his minutes as a 9. He's done it before and he can help us there,” the Liverpool boss explained.
Cody Gakpo as a central striker is not a theory; he has done it for club and country. Under Iraola, he might have to do it again. The problem is simple: there is no guarantee he will still be at Anfield when the window closes.
Tottenham are circling. Their interest is real, and Liverpool’s attacking jigsaw could be ripped up again if the Dutchman moves on.
Bradley Barcola’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain gives Liverpool more depth out wide and, on paper, a bit more freedom to consider offers for Gakpo. But any exit is likely to be tied to further business.
Yankuba Minteh and Ibrahim Mbaye are both on the radar. One could arrive. Both might. Liverpool know they cannot weaken the squad in one area without reinforcing another, not with a title race and a deep European run in their sights.
A new attack, and a £116m question
By the time the season settles, Liverpool could be lining up with a very different front line: Barcola cutting in, Isak leading the line, another new face stretching defences. Ekitike, meanwhile, will be working in the background, rehabbing quietly while his theoretical value climbs into the stratosphere.
If Isak explodes and looks every inch a marquee signing, he will feel like a new arrival himself. When Ekitike finally returns and slots back into an attack that has learned to live without him, Liverpool could suddenly find themselves with an embarrassment of riches.
For now, though, they enter the campaign with a £116m striker in the treatment room, another forward who might be on the move, and a manager trying to build an attack that can win now and dominate later.
How many clubs can say their most valuable asset won’t kick a ball for months?
