Hugo Ekitike will be desperate to make a good impression in his early weeks as a Liverpool player. Under normal circumstances, the £79million recruit may have slotted straight into his preferred centre-forward role at Anfield. But the Reds’ pursuit of Newcastle United marksman Alexander Isak has left him in an uncertain situation.
Having surpassed 20 goals in his last two Premier League seasons, Isak would be ahead of Ekitike in the race for the vacancy at the tip of Arne Slot’s attack. There is therefore a lot at stake for Ekitike, who will be hoping to prove that he is more than capable of firing Liverpool to another league title without Isak, or that he is worthy of the left-wing starting role if the Swede joins him on Merseyside.
Ekitike’s only outing so far came in a pre-season friendly win over Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday. A few nice touches caught the eye, but the Frenchman has also had the opportunity to leave an impression on Slot and his team-mates in training.
According to TBR Football, the impression he has left is a good one. Ekitike is said to be ‘dazzling’ behind the scenes, with coaches ‘delighted’ by what they are seeing and some players caught off guard by ‘just how good he is’.
Ekitike enhanced his reputation with a superb 2024/25 season at Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring 22 goals in all competitions and proving just as effective in Europe as he was in the Bundesliga.
Ekitike is only 23 but he has pedigree. As a youngster in Ligue 1 he hit double figures for Reims in a campaign which caught the attention of Newcastle United but ultimately ended up seeing him head to Paris Saint-Germain.
Reds legend Jan Molby was pleased by some aspects of what he saw from Ekitike during the 3-1 victory over Yokohama, but he and other Liverpool fans will be keen to get another glimpse during two back-to-back friendlies against Athletic Club on Monday.
“I think he’s done ok,” Molby told LFCTV. “He seems a willing runner, wanting to threaten in behind and be dangerous in that way. He’s willing and trying to look for areas to try and influence the game.
“He’ll be almost over-excited, his first opportunity to play for Liverpool. I’m sure he’s going to be fine, things will calm down and we’ll get on with the real stuff in the Premier League.”