One of Manchester United’s key striker targets could be set to stay at his current club depending on whether they qualify for Champions League football this season.
As we near closer and closer to this summer’s transfer window, the question marks surrounding Manchester United’s forward lines only continue to grow.
With there being a high degree of uncertainty around the futures of Ruben Amorim’s wingers, as well as a clear lack of goalscoring prowess up front, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be looking around Europe to see who he could bring in.
Between Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund this season, they have amassed a very poor six goals in 30 Premier League matches, which has forced United to start scouting alternatives.
One of these alternatives is 22-year-old Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, who has had a meteoric rise through the Bundesliga ranks this season.
How Frankfurt’s success could burden United
Spearheaded by Ekitike, Frankfurt have had an incredible season so far, which has seen them sitting in third, five points ahead of fifth.
As reported by Florian Plettenberg, Frankfurt could be handed a huge boost if they were to qualify for the Champions League, which could see Ekitike stay put in Germany.
Participation in Europe’s elite competition could bring Frankfurt around €25 million alone, with a qualification for the Round of 16 taking potential earnings up to around €55-€60 million.
The knock-on effect of this is that qualification could allow Frankfurt to only sell one top star, whilst keeping the rest of their budding talents.
Frankfurt to demand astonishing Ekitike fee
Despite the fact Frankfurt may not need to sell Ekitike, it could still very well be a possibility as the fee needed to obtain the Frenchman’s services could be a tough one to turn down.
With 17 goal contributions (13 goals, four assists) in 26 Bundesliga games this season, the six-foot-three striker has a lot to like, which has led to many European giants sniffing around the young starlet.
With United being one of these clubs, they will be hoping that Ekitike follows in the footsteps of his previous strike partner, Omar Marmoush, who took the leap from Frankfurt to Manchester in January.
As reported by Bulinews, the asking price for Ekitike is set at €80 million, €10 million more than the fee demanded for the aforementioned Marmoush.
With the news breaking out around Frankfurt, it could be a possibility that Amorim’s reds look elsewhere for their striker woes, with names such as Victor Osimhen, Viktor Gyokeres, and Liam Delap all being discussed.
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