Manchester City plot move for Eintracht Frankfurt forward after Erling Haaland comments

Manchester City are considering a move for Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitiké in the summer transfer window, as per a new report.

The 2023 treble winners are expected to be busy in the summer after a below-par campaign that saw them surrender their Premier League crown to Liverpool and crash out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 at the hands of Real Madrid.

Erling Haaland has shouldered a worrying majority of the goalscoring burden for Pep Guardiola’s side this season and has returned to full fitness ahead of City’s trip to face Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Manchester City sanctioned a £82 million transfer for Julian Alvarez to join Atletico Madrid last summer and have also sold Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap in the last few years, adding only Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Omar Marmoush to their attacking ranks since.

Hugo Viana is set to take over from Txiki Begiristain as director of football in the coming months and the feeling is that Manchester City are keen to support Erling Haaland in attack with a series of attack-minded acquisitions in the summer transfer window.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White are leading Manchester City’s wishlist ahead of the 2025-26 campaign as Guardiola also looks to replace the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne.

Bild have reported that Manchester City have registered an interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitiké as they keep tabs on the French forward whilst searching for potent additions to their attacking line in the summer, as relayed by Sport Witness.

Manchester City are reported to be amongst a long list of clubs to have held preliminary talks with the 22-year-old’s camp but not directly with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea all believed to be eyeing a swoop for the former Paris Saint-Germain star.

This season’s progression since the fall – when Manchester City went on a horrid run of results – is likely to have convinced club officials that Haaland needs support down the middle and cannot be expected to shoulder the goalscoring burden entirely for a season and noting a ‘lack of hunger’ in the squad has derailed them from meeting their standards this term.

Haaland remains Manchester City’s talisman and any fresh arrivals in attack will not alter his positioning in the pecking order after the 24-year-old Norway international signed a sensational 10-year contract this season that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium till the end of the 2033-34 campaign.

However, City are understood to be set on supporting Haaland with the introduction of Wirtz and Gibbs-White to their star-studded ranks in the summer and Guardiola will be hopeful that Phil Foden will be back to his best next term too after a sub-standard season personally for the England international.