Chelsea are interested in Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike, as they seek to conclude early summer transfer business as quickly as possible.

Ekitike, 22, scored 22 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Frankfurt last season and — according to sources close to the club, granted anonymity to protect relationships — is valued at €100million (£83.9m; $114m), albeit with a negotiable payment structure.

The 2024-25 season was the France Under-21 international’s second year in the Bundesliga, having moved initially on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2024. That transfer was made permanent the following summer for €17.5m.

Ekitike has been a great success and has become one of the most coveted forwards in the division. This term, he was the club’s joint-top scorer in the league with 15 goals (tied with Omar Marmoush, who joined Manchester City in January) as Frankfurt finished fourth in the Bundesliga and qualified for the Champions League for only the second time in their history — the first via a league finish having qualified via winning the Europa League in 2022.

Ekitike will be expensive, though, and Frankfurt have a strong recent history of negotiating big fees, particularly for forwards. The deal to sell Marmoush to Manchester City was worth €75m and in 2023, they sold Randal Kolo Muani to Paris Saint-Germain for €95m.

Chelsea’s priority this summer is to sign a striker and a right-footed winger, with Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko among the forwards they are also considering.

As reported by The Athletic in March, Chelsea are eager to move swiftly through the market this summer and finalise all incomings and outgoings by the end of June. They are keen to head into pre-season with a settled squad and to maximise the preparation time ahead of Enzo Maresca’s second season. While that has always been the intended strategy, they are also emboldened by having secured their own Champions League qualification, having beaten Nottingham Forest on the final day of the Premier League season.

Ekitike ended the season with 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions.

‘A player evolving into a complete forward’

Analysis by German football writer Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

Ekitike is fast becoming an excellent player. The first few months of the 2024-25 season were characterised by his combinations and understanding with Marmoush and, before the Egyptian’s departure for City, they became one of the most dangerous pairings in the Bundesliga.

It was in that partnership that Ekitike showed the variety within his game. A goalscorer, yes, but also a devastating counter-attacker — as Tottenham Hotspur found out in the Europa League, against whom he scored brilliantly in the first leg of their quarter-final — and a forward capable of creating chances, with pieces of skill or well-weighted passes that befuddled defenders. Either through the middle or down the left of the attack, he was a menace.

He seemed to grow into the gaps left by Marmoush, becoming more central to Frankfurt’s attacking game in the new year. In addition, while most obviously a technical player, he can be a formidable penalty box target, too, and has shown an aerial presence that can take defenders by surprise. Combine that with his capacity to beat defenders one-on-one, either through speed or skill, and you have the portrait of a player evolving into a complete forward.

There is no question that he is still developing. He must become more efficient and is occasionally prone to snatching at chances, but he is as talented as there is in German football and Premier League interest this summer was inevitable.

Additional reporting: Dan Sheldon

(Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)