Liverpool have completed the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.
The France under-21 international penned a six-year contract on Tuesday as the Premier League champions’ summer spending eclipsed a quarter of a billion.
Ekitike becomes the Reds’ fourth addition in the close season after they agreed a deal worth an initial £69 million with Eintracht for the highly coveted forward.
But the Anfield club faced a late attempt by Manchester United to hijack the deal just days after the forward’s preference had forced Newcastle’s hand in negotiations.
An approach from Old Trafford is understood to have been made by their director of recruitment Christopher Vivell to Eintracht in hopes of brokering a last-minute deal.
However Ekitike’s unwavering desire to join Arne Slot’s side saw the Red Devils’ last-minute bid fall flat with the Bundesliga outfit’s sporting director Markus Krosche.
The 23-year-old will now fly out to take part in Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Asia and could feature in their friendly with AC Milan in Hong Kong on Saturday.