Hugo Ekitike has made an excellent start at Liverpool and looks set to become a Merseyside star. Signed for a hefty £69m, potentially reaching £79m, many initially questioned whether the Reds had overspent on an unproven striker, especially when his game time looked threatened by the arrival of Premier League proven Alexander Isak.
Six months later, any early sceptics have been silenced. The 23-year-old Frenchman has undoubtedly been Liverpool’s best attacker this season and is quickly becoming a given name on the team sheet.
Ekitike’s path to the top certainly wasn’t an easy one. Having impressed in Ligue 1 at Reims, he was signed by PSG in 2022. Despite his early success in France, trying to break into an attack consisting of Mbappé, Neymar, Messi, and Di Maria was never going to be an easy task, and Ekitike, unsurprisingly, struggled for game time. His difficulty to escape the bench led to a sale to Eintracht Frankfurt just a year later.
As with many strikers in Frankfurt, it was here where his career really took off. Ekitike proved himself to be the dynamic striker that we see today, effortlessly filling Omar Marmoush’s shoes after the talented Egyptian left for Man City in January 2025, and eventually earning his big move to Liverpool in the summer.
The Frenchman has brought a dynamism and energy to Liverpool’s attack that has been severely lacking from the other players around him. In addition to his clinical finishing, Ekitike enjoys getting on the ball and showcasing his flair and dribbling ability. Off the pitch, he has become a fan favourite due to his confident personality and swagger, with perhaps the best example of this being his ‘burner’ Instagram account. Here he posts heaps of photos from his personal life along with dressing room banter with his teammates — a nice change from most footballers’ robotic social media presence.
After a brace against Newcastle, Ekitike is up to 15 goals for the Reds this season, making him their top scorer, and his partnership with Florian Wirtz has blossomed in recent weeks — the two have now assisted each other for six goals this season. Perhaps the only person not enjoying Ekitike’s form, besides rival fans, is Alexander Isak. The Swede must be wondering how he will break back into the team when he returns from injury, given that Arne Slot likes to play with one striker and seems reluctant to change his system. What can kickstart Alexander Isak? Maybe only a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt. Either way, Ekitike has been the man in form this season, and Liverpool fans will be hoping he can help take them back to the heights they reached under Jürgen Klopp in the years to come.