Hugo Ekitike's Surging Value Amid Injury Setback
Hugo Ekitike won’t kick a ball for Liverpool until deep into the season – yet his price is soaring.
The 24-year-old, sidelined since rupturing his Achilles in April, is now estimated to be worth up to £116million, according to CIES Football Observatory. That figure comes just a year after Liverpool paid £79m to prise him from Eintracht Frankfurt, and despite the fact he is not expected back until late 2026 or even the early months of next year.
A £116m striker on crutches
Ekitike’s first months at Anfield explained why Liverpool gambled big. Seventeen goals in seven blistering months turned him into the spearhead of a new-look attack and a crowd favourite before the injury stopped everything cold.
CIES’ model factors in age, contract, performances, market inflation and what a buying club would realistically have to pay. Ekitike ticks almost every box. At 24, with elite output already on his record and his prime years ahead, the algorithms push his value into the £100m-plus bracket.
His French nationality also plays into the equation. For a player of his profile, Paris Saint-Germain loom as the most obvious future bidder, and their history of triple-figure deals helps explain why £116m does not look outlandish in the current market.
That number, though, still depends on one thing: when he actually returns.
Iraola’s bleak timeline
Andoni Iraola, speaking in July, made it clear Liverpool’s patience will be tested with their 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 long roads back, while last season also saw serious knee injuries hit others in the squad. Alexander Isak missed a large chunk of the campaign and will be leaned on heavily again as Liverpool try to navigate the first half of the season without their £79m No 9.
Isak, Gakpo and a reshaped front line
Isak’s fitness now feels critical. If he can stay on the pitch and rediscover his sharpness quickly, Liverpool effectively gain a “new” striker while Ekitike rehabs in the background.
Iraola has also floated another solution: Cody Gakpo through the middle.
“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.
The idea is clear. Gakpo, comfortable receiving between the lines and attacking the box, could become the flexible central option if injuries or form demand a reshuffle. But just as that plan takes shape, uncertainty creeps in from elsewhere.
Tottenham are interested in Gakpo, and there is no guarantee he will still be a Liverpool player by the time the window shuts in September.
Transfer dominoes waiting to fall
Bradley Barcola’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain could open the door for Gakpo to move on. A fresh winger would, in theory, give Iraola enough depth out wide to sacrifice one of his current forwards.
Yet Liverpool’s stance looks cautious. Any Gakpo exit would likely depend on at least one more attacking signing – with Yankuba Minteh and Ibrahim Mbaye both under consideration, and the possibility that the club move for both if the market breaks in their favour.
What is certain is that Liverpool’s attack will look different. Two summer additions, a fully fit Isak and, somewhere down the line, the return of Ekitike, will reshape the front line over the next 12 to 18 months.
For now, the club heads into the new season knowing its most valuable striker is in the treatment room, not on the pitch. If Ekitike comes back anything like the player who lit up his first seven months at Anfield, that £116m valuation might soon feel conservative.
