Manchester City might win the FA Cup next week, but it won’t be a consolation for the dismal season they have endured in the Premier League and Champions League.
Knocked out of the latter by Real Madrid in February, City’s title challenge was effectively over by the turn of the year.
Pep Guardiola made key signings in January, although he will be keen on adding a few more players to his squad in the summer.
Could he be set to raid the Bundesliga once again?
Man City's search for a striker
As reported earlier this week by German news outlet Bild, City have now joined the race for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitiké this summer.
They signed Omar Marmoush in January from the same club and it appears as though they are looking to raid them once more.
Liverpool and Arsenal have been heavily linked with the Frenchman of late, but Guardiola looks ready to make his move.
Due to the clubs chasing him, Frankfurt have placed a price tag of €100m (£85m) on his head, which might deter a few potential bids.
City have made their fair share of signings from the German top flight over the years, but it was their capture of Edin Dzeko which set the club up for their first Premier League title.
Hugo Ekitike could be City’s next Edin Dzeko
Dzeko joined City midway through the 2010/11 campaign – following his own prolific stint in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg – and enjoyed a solid first few months, scoring six times for the club.
The 2011/12 season saw the Etihad side claim their first ever Premier League crown and Dzeko netted 19 times in all competitions under Roberto Mancini.
A pure out-and-out striker, the Bosnian ended his spell at the club by scoring 72 goals across 198 matches, a more than respectable outlay. That followed the 85 goals he had scored in just 142 games during his time in Germany.
A potential German import like Dzeko, Ekitike certainly has his own qualities in front of goal. That much is known. For Frankfurt this season, he has found the back of the net on 15 occasions in the Bundesliga.
Furthermore, he has also created 12 big chances and succeeds with 1.6 dribbles per game, indicating that he offers more than just a clinical nature in front of goal.
Metric
Bundesliga
Europa League
Goals
15
4
Assists
7
3
Big chances created
12
6
Shots per game
3.5
2.2
Total duels won per game
4.2
4.3
During the formative years of his career, many expected him to go on to achieve big things, with sections of the media believing he “could be the next Mbappe” after he was linked with a move to Newcastle in 2022.
The youngster might not have hit the highs of the current Real Madrid sensation, but optimism is there that his career has been revived at Frankfurt following a disappointing spell with PSG.
Compared to his peers in the Bundesliga, Ekitike ranks in the top 9% for total shots (3.82), assists (0.29), shot-creating actions (3.52) and successful take-ons (1.9) per 90 over the previous 365 days.
Not merely content with being a pure striker, the Frenchman offers plenty in the final third. While £85m might put City off, if they can bring this price down, a move could be on the cards.
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While Guardiola does already boast a Sergio Aguero-esque talisman in Erling Haaland, Ekitike could represent the perfect understudy – just as Dzeko was all those years ago.
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