Liverpool are advancing in negotiations to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

At the time of the writing, Romano has not uttered his catchphrase “here we go”, but writing on his X account, he believes things are moving in the right direction:

“Hugo Ekitike has been clear with Eintracht: he wants Liverpool move, as contract terms have already been discussed.”

“Negotiations continue after first bid turned down, clubs remain in talks as Liverpool will insist. Newcastle out since yesterday.”

Why are Newcastle no longer in the race for Ekitike?

The Magpies pulled out of talks with Frankfurt on Wednesday after it became clear that the Frenchman had prioritised a move to Anfield.

Like the Reds, Eddie Howe’s side also had one bid rejected for Ekitike but they have now cooled their interest and moved on to a backup target, Brentford’s Yoane Wissa.

As we wrote in our piece yesterday, it was always unlikely that if Newcastle chose to keep Alexander Isak, they would be able to sign Ekitike as well.

Have Liverpool given up on signing Isak?

The Reds are not expected to table a bid for the Swedish international after being told that the striker is not for sale.

It does appear as if they wanted to make it known to Newcastle that they would not have competed for Ekitike’s signature if they had opened the door for Isak to make the switch to Merseyside.

Some fans will be left disappointed that Arne Slot’s side have had to pivot to Ekitike but it has been clear for several weeks that the striker was high up the club’s list of targets for the summer.

In other news, Liverpool have been told which striker is the perfect addition out of Isak, Ekitike and Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta