Ekitike was spotted training in retro Gerrard shirt a MONTH before £80m move

Hugo Ekitike had demonstrated his desire to play for Liverpool ahead of his imminent move, with photos emerging of the forward having trained in a retro kit baring the name of their club's legendary captain Steven Gerrard.

Ekitike is poised to undergo a medical ahead of completing move from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Liverpool have struck a deal worth an initial £69m plus £10m in add-ons, which are based on team and player performance.

Mail Sport reported in March that Ekitike was a top target for the Reds, with the French forward only wanting to join the club.

This came despite long-standing interest from Newcastle, who had opened talks with Frankfurt before Liverpool swooped.

Fans have been quick to highlight Ekitike's desire to play for the Reds, citing him wearing a Gerrard kit while training this summer.

Photos showed Ekitike training at the Marbella Football Centre, understood to be last month, with the forward seen wearing a retro away kit from Liverpool 1997/98 season.

The kit featured Gerrard's initial Liverpool shirt number of 28, before he switched to 17 and eventually the No8 he would wear for the remaining of his career at Anfield.

'I love him even more already Ekitikeeee,' one fan wrote in response.

Another posted 'He KNOWS exactly what he is doing and we love it, with a third writing 'It has always been Liverpool'.

One fan speculated that the photo could even hold a clue to Ekitike's likely shirt number at Liverpool.

'I won't be surprise if he wear the No 28,' one fan suggested, with the number currently unassigned in the Liverpool squad.

Ekitike currently wears the No11 at Frankfurt, but the squad number is held at Liverpool by Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool hope Ekitike can fly out to their pre-season tour in Hong Kong and Japan. Sporting director Richard Hughes remained in UK for now to finalise this transfer.

Ekitike has become the side's fifth major addition this summer following the signings of Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili.

His acquisition has taken their summer spend to £289m, with reports indicating that the side are not yet finished with their spree.

Last week, Newcastle had an offer of £70m rejected for Ekitike, which fell £16m short of his release clause.

Liverpool have also been linked with a move for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak but that move remains in question, especially after the major outplay for the France Under 21 international.

Last season Ekitike scored 22 goals in 48 games for Frankfurt in all competitions, with 15 of those strikes coming in the Bundesliga.

He was also named in the Bundesliga team of the season following a hugely impressive campaign. Ekitike was previously at Paris Saint-Germain, initially on loan from Reims before joining permanently.

However, he only made 33 appearances for PSG in total and scored four goals.

Liverpool have already been heavily active in the transfer market this summer, with several familiar faces leaving Anfield in a summer of churn.

Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid, while Jarell Quansah signed for Bayer Leverkusen and Caoimhin Kelleher made the switch to Brentford.

The Reds are also expected to sell a number of stars before the window closes, with the likes of Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliot all heavily linked with moves away.