Ian Rush instantly reacts as Liverpool announce Hugo Ekitike arrival
Liverpool have announced the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.
Ekitike makes the move to Merseyside after notching 15 goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga last season.
The Premier League champions will pay an initial £69million with a further potential £10m in add-ons for the French star.
Arne Slot has been looking for a new number nine all summer, and he finally has his man.
Rush reacts as Liverpool confirm Ekitike
Ian Rush is the most legendary striker in Liverpool history, notching 346 goals in 660 appearances in two spells with the Reds.
The Anfield outfit took to Instagram (23 July) to announce the deal for Ekitike, saying: “We have reached an agreement for the transfer of Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike, subject to international clearance.”
Rush reacted by commenting with a handshake emoji and tagging the new addition.
Ekitike will hope to have similar impact as Rush at Liverpool
Rush was a key figure of the great Reds sides of the 1980s, and he won five First Division titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and 2 European Cups.
The Slot era is only just beginning in L4, and Ekitike will hope to play a key part in any potential future success as the main number nine for the Dutchman, with Darwin Nunez likely to be sold this summer.
The Merseysiders have added the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez already, so are in a great position to retain their domestic crown.
They will hope that the signing of the Frenchman can elevate them to a new level and help them to bring the Champions League home for a seventh time.
He could very well end his career with a similar amount of trophies as Rush if Slot and Co. can get it right on the pitch.
However, getting anywhere near his record goal tally with be a nearly impossible task, as even Mohamed Salah, who has been a superstar since joining in 2017, only has 245 strikes to his name.
That is still 101 behind Rush, which puts into perspective how remarkable the Welshman was when he was in his prime on Merseyside, terrorising defenders every week.
Sign up for the Liverpool News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Liverpool news sent straight to your phone.