Last year’s summer transfer window had already shut when Eintracht Frankfurt made headlines four days after deadline day, with Krisztián Lisztes becoming their first signing for the 2024/25 season in early September 2023.
This was very much a long-term vision on the part of Eintracht management, but their recruitment of a Hungarian teenager who only turned 19 on 6 May this year was backed up by a list published by UEFA a little while back.
Player to watch 2024
In an article entitled “Who could star in European football this year?”, the European confederation listed 40 talents under the age of 21, and alongside Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson was none other than Krisztián Lisztes, who had helped Hungarian side Ferencvárosi TC to win their record-extending 34th and 35th league titles over the past two seasons.
Lisztes was born in the Hungarian capital and played his youth football there with MTK Budapest from 2015 to 2017, before joining Ferencváros. He made his first-team debut eight days after his 17th birthday, on 14 May 2022, before blossoming a year later with five goals in nine appearances across April and May 2023. This was enough for the Hungarian Football Association to make the youngster in the No.76 jersey “newcomer of the season”.
Goal involvement every other game
After that, Lisztes’ profile continued to rise, regardless of whether he played as a classic centre-forward, a false nine or on either wing, leading Eintracht’s sporting director Timmo Hardung to praise his “intensity, energy and eye for goal – for himself and his team-mates”. Last season, Lisztes was second-highest scorer with eight goals, behind only Barnabás Varga.
Across 34 matches throughout the season, including 11 in UEFA competitions, the teenager racked up ten goals and six assists, fulfilling what Hardung was hoping to see when the signing was announced last autumn, namely that “Krisztián makes the most of a familiar environment to continue his development and get more game time”. In early June this year, board member for sport Markus Krösche confirmed that Lisztes would “definitely be joining us and having his pre-season with the squad”.
The most recent Hungarian signings for Eintracht were Szabolcs Huszti, who joined the club in January 2016, followed by Noah Fenyö six months later. The latter, born in Frankfurt but with Hungarian roots, was given a pro contract just two weeks ago with the club. The now 18-year-old is establishing himself as a solid defensive midfielder and appears to be a good long-term prospect who is already a popular figure at the Riederwald.
