Reports: Ekitike en-route to Frankfurt after Eintracht swing last-minute deal
It appears as if, after quite the long saga, Eintracht Frankfurt have secured the services of a major transfer target with a last-minute deal close before the transfer deadline closes.
Multiple French and German footballing media sources are now reporting that Eintracht Frankfurt will land 21-year-old French striker Hugo Ekitike after all. The PSG striker has long wished to join Germany's RheinMain Adler, but the two clubs were unable to come to an agreement on a transfer. PSG have now accepted a lucrative offer proffered by the SGE near the close of business on transfer deadline day.
Eintracht have agreed to first pay a loan fee of some €3 million, an unusually high sum for such an arrangement. France's RMC sport reports that a purchase obligation (possibly a mandatory one) will form a package in the €30 million range if certain performance-related bonuses are met. The player himself is rumored to be willing to take a pay cut in order to potentially earn more playing time in Hessen.
German transfer guru Florian Plettenberg claims that Ekitike's plane has already departed Paris and that the forward will land in Frankfurt shortly. After his medical is completed, one expects formal confirmation from the German club later this evening. The move may increase the likelihood of Eintracht potentially parting company with Egyptian attacker Omar Marmoush.