Hugo Ekitike's Rising Value Amid Injury Setback

Hugo Ekitike hasn’t kicked a ball since April. His Achilles went, his season collapsed, and Liverpool were left without the centrepiece of their new-look attack.

Yet his price keeps climbing.

The 24-year-old French forward, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for £79million last summer, is now valued at up to £116m by the CIES Football Observatory, despite facing months more on the sidelines. Seventeen goals in his first seven months at Anfield have clearly left a mark on the market.

A rising asset who can’t play

Ekitike’s last appearance came before that devastating tendon rupture in April. The recovery is long and unforgiving. Liverpool do not expect him back until late 2026 – and even that may drift into the new year if setbacks appear.

On paper, that should drag a player’s value down. Instead, the opposite has happened.

CIES’ model factors in age, contract length, performance data, market inflation and the going rate for elite forwards. In Ekitike’s case, the numbers point to a triple-figure fee. At 24, with proven output in a top league and plenty of peak years ahead, the algorithm still loves him.

The profile matters too. A young, French, high-scoring attacker with Champions League potential inevitably draws a line to clubs like Paris Saint-Germain. When other forwards are moving for huge sums, £116m starts to look less outrageous and more like the going rate for a player of his profile.

Of course, that figure lives in a fragile world. The longer Ekitike is out, the more it will be tested.

Iraola’s blunt reality check

Andoni Iraola, tasked with navigating Liverpool through this injury storm, did not sugar-coat the situation when he was asked in July about his long-term absentees.

“In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is [Giovanni] Leoni. After will be Conor [Bradley] and Hugo, but especially the last two are still way off. We are talking about months and still a lot of time out,” he said.

Bradley and Ekitike are not alone. Both suffered serious knee injuries last season, and Alexander Isak also missed a large chunk of the campaign. The Swede’s fitness now feels critical. With Ekitike gone until deep into the season, Isak suddenly becomes indispensable.

Gakpo, the false nine – or the next to leave?

Iraola has already started plotting alternatives. One of them wears No. 18.

“I think Cody can play as a 9. Not tried it pre-season because we don't have enough wingers. He knows what we need from him in his preferred position as a left-winger but I have spoken to him about his minutes as a 9. He's done it before and he can help us there,” Iraola explained.

So Gakpo is on standby to shift inside, to become the central reference point in Ekitike’s absence. He has done the job for club and country, dropping between the lines, linking play, finishing from close range.

There is a twist, though: he might not be around to do it.

Tottenham are circling, and there is no guarantee Gakpo will still be a Liverpool player come September. His future is tangled up in a wider attacking reshuffle.

A new-look Liverpool front line

Bradley Barcola’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain could open the door for Gakpo to move on. If the Frenchman locks down a wide role, Liverpool might feel they can cash in on the Dutchman – but only if the recruitment jigsaw falls perfectly into place.

Any Gakpo exit is likely to hinge on at least one more attacking signing. Yankuba Minteh and Ibrahim Mbaye are both under consideration, with the possibility that Liverpool push for both if the market breaks their way.

That leaves Iraola staring at a front line that could look dramatically different in a matter of weeks: Barcola bedding in, Isak leading the line, and another fresh face or two flanking him.

Ekitike, the man signed to be the focal point, will watch it all unfold from the treatment room. His value climbs, his reputation holds, but his boots stay off.

When he finally returns, Liverpool may be a very different attacking team. The real question is whether he comes back as the missing piece of a new project, or as a £116m asset in a market ready to test just how much a long-term injury really costs.