Liverpool confirm £79m signing of striker Hugo Ekitike as Reds' summer spending passes £290MILLION

Liverpool have confirmed the £79million signing of striker Hugo Ekitike.

The Eintracht Frankfurt No 9 is expected to join up with the squad in Hong Kong in the next 48 hours for training sessions but is unlikely to play in Saturday's fixture against AC Milan.

Ekitike, 23, joins on a six-year contract and has been on Liverpool's radar for some years, with Mail Sport first revealing in March that he was a top target.

Liverpool have been in contact with Ekitike since January and Arne Slot informed the Frenchman of his intention to sign him at the end of the season just gone.

The Reds' data tests showed that no one other than Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe scored higher in their data tests for No 9s.

Slot's men do see him as a central striker but acknowledge that he can play off the wings too.

The package is a £69m base fee plus £10m in add-ons which are based on team and player performance. The Frenchman has joined on a six-year deal and underwent his medical on Tuesday.

Sporting director Richard Hughes has remained in the UK for now to finalise this transfer after Arne Slot's squad departed for the Far East on Sunday night after beating Stoke 5-0 in a behind-closed-doors game at the AXA Training Base in Kirkby.

The champions played two different starting line-ups before and after half-time and Florian Wirtz, the club record addition, got his first competitive action for the club following his £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen.

The likes of Jeremine Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili have also featured, having joined for £29.5m, £40m and £29m respectively.

Those four signings have taken the Reds' summer spending past £290m as they continue to splash the cash and look to improve on a season that saw them become Premier League champions for a second time.

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.