Who is Hugo Ekitike? Liverpool transfer target's Champagne life and hat-trick vs England

Liverpool are closing in on signing Eintracht Frankfurt's star striker Hugo Ekitike who lives a Champagne lifestyle with a love of bold fashion and bling, fast cars and banging in goals

Liverpool mean business this summer and Arne Slot is not letting up on his rivals as he looks to hammer home the Reds' dominance.

Florian Wirtz is the big incoming so far for a British transfer record £116m and he'll be joined by flying fullbacks Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, plus goalkeepers Ármin Pécsi, Freddie Woodman and Giorgi Mamardashvili - who has also arrived on the banks of the River Mersey, having put pen to paper last season.

And yet, Slot still wants a striker to further bolster the Premier League champions, with Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike at the top of his shopping list. The Frenchman has made quite the impact over in Germany, as part of an exciting Frankfurt attack that also featured Manchester City star Omar Marmoush until January.

Ekitike, 23, came through the ranks at Stade de Reims, spending time out on loan in Denmark, before asserting himself as a first-team player, scoring 11 goals in 28 appearances for 'The Red and Whites'.

And as a young French player turning heads in Ligue 1 with his 6ft 3in frame and fancy footwork, it wasn't long until giants Paris Saint-Germain came sniffing for his signature.

Hugo Ekitike netted a hat-trick against the Young Lions

Hugo Ekitike loves to kick back away from the football pitch

He would join the French giants on loan, with an option to buy, in 2022, making 32 appearances and registering four goals and four assists, as PSG clinched the title. The young hotshot would make his move permanent in the summer in a £30m deal, but would only make one more Ligue 1 appearance.

A loan move to Frankfurt beckoned, which has since become permanent, and that's where the Frenchman has come into his own, notching 26 goals in 64 games, including 22 last season, which made him a transfer target for Manchester United, Newcastle United and Liverpool.

A video uploaded on the Bundesliga's official YouTube channel describes him as "poetry in motion" and called him "Europe's most elegant" striker. And it's those labels that have even earned him comparisons to Arsenal and France icon Thierry Henry.

"Hugo is a player with extraordinary qualities, he's exceptional. We have full faith in him," Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller gushed. While his former Reims coach Óscar García added: "There is something very special about him.

"He's a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training."

England know all about that quality too - he netted a hat-trick against Lee Carsley's Young Lions in an U21s friendly in March, when his three goals in a 5-3 victory included an audacious backheel. In April, he followed that up with a long range strike in the Europa League quarter-finals against Tottenham Hotspur.

However, on the pitch is only half of Ekitike's story and he loves to live the Champagne lifestyle away from football.

The Frenchman's Instagram is littered with flashy snaps from fashion-forward fits to getting behind the wheel of a stunning Ferrari, partying with friends on a yacht and showing off some bold looks, complete with a collection of impressive watches and jewellery.

And yet, Ekitike remains the consummate professional, as there are lots of snaps of his lifestyle but even more of him training - often solo. A recent upload shows a video of him running shooting drills, curling the ball into the far corner.

Ekitike had been linked with numerous Premier League clubs this summer.