Alexander Isak will significantly bolster Liverpool’s forward options, but with Hugo Ekitike to also consider, we look at how Arne Slot could line up his side.
With the help of our partners at FotMob, we take a look at how Liverpool could lineup with Alexander Isak.
Liverpool have added not one, but two elite centre-forward options this summer after agreeing a £125 million deal for Isak, having already added Ekitike earlier this summer.
Newcastle‘s brief to the media was that they wanted the pair to start together, but they are to be playing in red from this season on, and it begs the question of how Slot will line up his side.
The Reds can and will, of course, utilise just one of their strikers in the XI throughout the season, but here is how they could look with both Isak and Ekitike.
4-2-2-2: Isak and Ekitike up top
A 4-2-2-2 formation would see Isak and Ekitike lead the line as a formidable striker partnership, and you can be assured Slot’s demands for their off ball work will be drilled into them.
Ekitike showed with Omar Marmoush at Frankfurt that he could dovetail with another silky forward, and while the duo share similar qualities, they can complement each other.
This formation does leave Liverpool light in midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch acting as a double-pivot with plenty of space to cover in this example.
Florian Wirtz would be pushed to the left, not the position he was signed for, but he can still operate in the half-spaces behind the front two and ahead of the midfield pairing – Cody Gakpo could also fill this role.
Dominik Szoboszlai has made it hard to keep him out of the side and a spot at right-back ensures his intensity and work rate stays on the pitch.
This, however, means a notable name will still miss out and that could be Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, but it is a nod to the versatility and depth Slot has.
It’s attack-heavy and will have its purposes throughout the season.
4-2-3-1: Ekitike as the left winger
If Slot wants to keep the side as settled as possible, he would shift Ekitike to the left wing – at the cost of Gakpo – to leave Mohamed Salah and Wirtz in their specialist positions.
The Frenchman was signed as a versatile option and we have seen his proclivity to drift from the left already, and this will leave Isak to take the lone No. 9 role.
It is a more familiar set up for the longer-serving players and could facilitate a quicker transition period, but three new faces in attack will still require an adjustment period.
The tactical flexibility is clear for Slot, who has made it known that “two [players] per position is ideal,” and Liverpool have that in attack with Frimpong also an option on the right wing.
While Isak’s arrival will have prompted questions of, ‘what about Ekitike?’, there is more than enough room for both of them – whether on the pitch at the same time or as rotation options.
Liverpool are competing across four competitions and unlike last season, when some players did not have the trust of Slot, these two have been signed for him and he will use them accordingly.
The club have made yet another statement with Isak and it poses a frightening prospect for opposition defences.
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