Hugo Ekitike believes Alexander Isak’s presence will aid his development as the young striker welcomed the increased competition at Liverpool.
Arne Slot’s Premier League champions made waves in the summer transfer window, with the 23-year-old Ekitike following the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez to Anfield. Ekitike joined from Frankfurt in a deal worth £69 million plus a potential £10 million (approximately €11.45 million) in add-ons and has hit the ground running, scoring five goals in eight appearances across all competitions.
But Liverpool maintained a strong interest in Newcastle sharpshooter Isak throughout the summer and secured the striker for a British record £125 million on deadline day.
“I think it’s good to have players in such a big club,” Ekitike said. “I can’t see one big club playing with only one striker, so I think it’s good that he’s here. Even for me at my age, I think I still have a lot of things to improve and learn, so for me it’s good that he’s here.”
He added, “As for if we can play together, that’s for the coach to decide how he wants to play. That’s not me. But obviously, he’s a great player. I’ve been playing in two-striker compositions and one-striker systems, so I can do a lot of things. If we have to play together, I can do that.”
Ekitike certainly appears to be loving life at Liverpool, having joined despite interest from the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle.
“It was just the best choice,” he said. “You know, it’s the champions of England. For me, they have great players, a great history. It just fitted with what I was looking for after Frankfurt.”
Ekitike was speaking on the eve of Liverpool’s Champions League match at Galatasaray, where the young striker is in line to make his first appearance since last Tuesday’s embarrassing sending-off.
The Frenchman replaced Isak at half-time of the Carabao Cup clash against Southampton and went on to score a late winner. He famously removed his shirt and held it up to the cameras in celebration. However, the substitute had already been booked and received what Slot called a “stupid red card” that ruled him out of Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace.
“I think that wasn’t smart,” Ekitike admitted. “Obviously, I punished myself alone, I’d say. I felt a bit disappointed to watch the boys from home last Saturday, but as I said on Instagram, I apologise to everybody already, to my teammates. That kind of thing won’t happen again. I just move on now. I am just looking forward to playing and I just focus on football.”
Ekitike will hope to make amends in Istanbul, where Liverpool arrived without Federico Chiesa due to what Slot described as a “little niggle.” The Liverpool boss did not want to take any risks ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea—a match he hopes to approach on the back of a morale-boosting victory against Galatasaray.
“I think we always have to do, no matter if you win, lose, or draw, what is asked of you if you want to compete for trophies, but let alone if you wear a Liverpool shirt,” Slot said. “That is giving everything you have and combining that with the best football you can play.”
“We created more chances during the course of the game, more chances than we had in all the three games we played before against Palace, but we also conceded many more chances than we did before. So we can improve, and the things we can improve I will show tonight to the players.”
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/hugo-ekitike-reckons-alexander-isak-competition-will-boost-him-at-liverpool-1812742.html