Chelsea’s £60m star has made Liverpool signing Hugo Ekitike unhappy without even facing him yet

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When Chelsea and Liverpool face each other for the first time in the new season, it is going to be a very interesting game.

It is a fixture that should see new Liverpool signing Hugo Ekitike start. The Reds paid £79m to bring the forward in from Eintracht Frankfurt, so he is not going to be sitting on the bench.

At one stage, Chelsea were also interested in Ekitike, but in the end the Blues decided to head in a different direction.

It has now emerged that the 23-year-old was quite disappointed after Chelsea turned their attention elsewhere.

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Hugo Ekitike left disappointed after Chelsea’s signing of Joao Pedro

While Ekitike was a target for Chelsea, the Conference League winners opted to sign Joao Pedro instead of the Frenchman.

According to Bild, that development was “much to Ekitike’s disappointment”. But as of now, Chelsea will feel that they made the correct decision.

Pedro was cheaper, arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion in a £60m deal, and has made an instant impact.

At the Club World Cup, the Brazil international scored three goals in three games, with one of his strikes coming against Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

All in all, Chelsea’s decision to bring Pedro in looks justified based on those three matches alone. Ahead of the new Premier League season, Pedro is already the most picked player on FPL (Fantasy Premier League).

When Hugo Ekitike and Joao Pedro will come face to face

Both being forwards, you would now expect loads of comparisons between Ekitike and Pedro to be made, especially when Chelsea and Liverpool meet.

Their first tie of the 2025/26 Premier League season is set to take place on Saturday 4 October, though it could be moved to a Sunday or Monday to be shown on television.

Whenever it is, Ekitike will have an opportunity to show Chelsea that they perhaps chose the wrong forward.

For now, though, Chelsea fans will not be too bothered about not signing Ekitike after Pedro’s impact at the Club World Cup.