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Liverpool is lining up another marquee transfer addition, in a summer which has already seen the Reds break their own record to sign Florian Wirtz.
In a move likely to have implications for the German's position on the pitch, an outright number nine is now being targeted in the form of Hugo Ekitike. The Frenchman is no stranger to playing with world-class talent, having previously lined up alongside the likes of Lionel Messi. The world's best player even gave him his own nickname.
And Ekitike will be settling into another elite environment if he comes to Anfield. The prospect of being fed passes by Wirtz and Mohamed Salah is a strong sales pitch to any forward.
Salah will not be the first talented Egyptian to have shared a pitch with Ekitike. At his current club, Eintracht Frankfurt, he was teammates with Omar Marmoush until January.
That partnership was broken up by Manchester City, who brought Marmoush to the Premier League in the winter transfer window. He has settled in well, scoring seven times and assisting twice in 15 league appearances to help Pep Guardiola's side comfortably secure Champions League football.
But his nine league goal involvements for Man City could not match the 25 he managed in the Bundesliga for Frankfurt in the first half of the season. Together, he and Ekitike went on an almighty tear, one which helped fuel an eventual third-placed finish.
Unsurprisingly, Ekitike thinks fondly of their partnership. And he revealed in March that he hoped to come face-to-face with Marmoush again soon.
"I try to watch his games whenever I can, especially when he’s playing," Marmoush told the Bundesliga website in March. "I think we shared some great moments together, and I hope we can play together again or face each other soon."
Fortunately for Liverpool, it seems as though it may be the second part of that wish that comes true. Should he complete a transfer to Anfield, he and Marmoush will find themselves on opposite sides of the competitive rivalry that has defined the last decade or so of English football.
The transfer is not yet a done deal. Liverpool has agreed personal terms with the striker, but negotiations with Eintracht Frankfurt continue.
Newcastle has already found out that this can be a difficult process, having seen a bid rejected before backing away once Liverpool got involved. Manchester United has also monitored Ekitike's situation without ever making a decisive move, and Richard Hughes will know that Frankfurt is renowned for its strong selling.
But if Ekitike does join as expected, he will do so at a time when Liverpool is distinctly on top of the rivalry with Man City. While Marmoush was signed as one cog in a pretty comprehensive rebuild at the Etihad after Guardiola's drastic slump, the Reds would be adding to a side that just strolled to the title.
It did so without a particularly effective outright center-forward. Darwin Nunez is expected to leave the club after three seasons, and even he often found himself benched for an out-of-position Luis Diaz.
In that sense, Ekitike is well-placed to elevate Arne Slot's team to new heights, especially given the added service from Wirtz. It is an exciting prospect, and his first showdown with Marmoush (scheduled for November 8) is set to be particularly eagerly anticipated.
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