Chelsea £84m target is on Liverpool’s radar, is rated by Lionel Messi and rejected Newcastle

Chelsea are reportedly in the hunt for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who has also turned down a move to Newcastle in the past, while Lionel Messi is also a big fan

Chelsea are poised to make a summer swoop for Hugo Ekitike, who has previously snubbed one of their domestic rivals. The striker comes highly recommended, with Lionel Messi, who played with him at Paris Saint-Germain, a big fan of the youngster.

Ekitike’s time at PSG was short-lived before he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite some seeing this as a step down, Ekitike has seized his chance, scoring 22 goals in 45 games this season and boosting his reputation.

However, things didn’t turn out too badly for the Magpies, who ended up signing prolific striker Alexander Isak instead. Fast forward to today, and Ekitike’s price tag is likely to be more than triple the £25m fee PSG paid for him three years ago.

“I had lots of clubs and Paris’ offer arrived. That was that. The next logical step,” he told to UEFA’s official website at the time. “Paris are the biggest club in France right now, winning everything. They had the best players in the world. How could I say no?