Thierry Henry's private Hugo Ekitike verdict after being compared to Liverpool target

Thierry Henry believes that Liverpool target Hugo Ekitike has a "very high ceiling" but concedes he sometimes "doesn't do the basics very well".

The Frenchman is looking set for a move to the Premier League provided a club meets his valuation with Frankfurt wanting to maximise their profits. Ekitike scored more than 22 times last season in all competitions, capturing the attention of Liverpool and Newcastle.

The Magpies had a £70million offer turned down by Frankfurt, and Liverpool - who are Ekitike's preferred destination - have now come to the table. They have indicted their desire to bid and could meet the figure that the Bundesliga outfit want.

Ekitike is yet to be capped by France, instead playing for their U21s, but a Les Bleus icon in Henry has seen parts of the attacker's game that he particularly likes whilst citing clear areas of improvement.

Speaking on the last month, Micah Richards, who works with Henry at CBS, admits the Arsenal icon was not totally convinced by Ekitike despite acknowledging that, if he gets it right, he could become an incredibly impactful player.

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The former Manchester City defender said: "In terms of Ekitike, I’ve spoken to Thierry about him a lot. He says he’s not [necessarily] a frustrating player, but one minute he looks amazing and the next minute he does not do the basics very well. He said if he gets it right and improves then his ceiling could be very, very high."

Ekitike looked set to join Newcastle from Reims three years ago and back then the talk was of them signing the ‘next Thierry Henry’. Comparisons have been drawn between the Frankfurt man and the ex-Arsenal man given their physical attributes and a desire to drift wide before coming back centrally.

Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche has admitted Ekitiké's future could likely be away from Deutsche Bank Park as he conceded the club attempt not to stand in the way of players if they cannot match their personal development, previously letting Omar Marmoush leave for Manchester City.

"He's one of the most interesting strikers on the European market. Hugo has to decide that," he told Sport 1. "I'm glad we have him. If he decides otherwise, that's our motto: If a player develops faster than us, we let him go."

Liverpool are looking to further bolster their frontline with Darwin Nunez expected to move on from Anfield this summer. The team, at times, have been over reliant on Mohamed Salah and want more firepower.

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