Dwight Yorke thinks Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike could work as a strike partnership, but believes Florian Wirtz would complicate that option
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 21: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on October 21, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz during a Liverpool training session at AXA Training Centre on October 21, 2025
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Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike could form a devastating front two at Liverpool - if wasn't for Florian Wirtz. That's according to former Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke, who was half of one of the Premier League's deadliest attacking partnerships with Andy Cole.
Liverpool signed the three attacking stars in the summer as part of a revamp of their forward options.
Ekitike joined from Frankfurt for around £80million while the Reds broke the British transfer record for Wirtz (£116m) and then Isak (£125m). But so far, head coach Arne Slot has struggled to find a formula to get the best from all three players.
Ekitike has settled the best of the three players with six goals in all competitions. But Isak only has one goal to his name - in the Carabao Cup against Southampton - and Wirtz is yet to find the net for the first time.
The team's form has suffered, too, with the 3-0 loss to Manchester City before the international break leaving Liverpool in eighth place in the Premier League and eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
When the players return, Slot's biggest challenge will be to find a way of getting the best from these three lucrative summer additions.
And speaking to Snabbare, Yorke suggested that Isak and Ekitike could work in tandem, but that Liverpool would be left with a £116m problem.
"You have got to create a healthy atmosphere around the place," he said. "If you create a competitive spirit where you feel like you’re competing with friends all on the same team then there’s no hatred or bad feeling there. That’s the first thing.
"Coley wasn’t hateful of me coming to United. I was coming to challenge him for his position at first because I was the new signing, the new kid on the block, but he accepted that challenge. He didn’t accept that I was a better player than him. He had to believe in his own ability.
"He was willing to fight, and don’t forget that Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were there as well. The competition was even greater. Coley could have taken the easy option and left the club. He didn’t because he trusted his ability. That’s the second thing.
"On the flip side, I was the expensive new signing but that didn’t guarantee me anything. I had to go and show what I was capable of doing. I think the gaffer got lucky because I wasn’t really a nine. I can play nine but I was more of a link player, I liked to get involved in the play, so it sorted itself out.
"We had two flying wingers and I could jump into pockets and Coley played as the nine. Liverpool’s players can find a solution for themselves too. That’s the third thing.
"Isak could be the nine. Eiktike can play wide. But you won’t know until Slot is forced into trying it. He might go that way like how Sir Alex (Ferguson) fell into what worked for me and Coley. In many ways, Fergie fell into being on the front foot with us.
"He said to us: 'Right, Coley and Yorkie, you’re starting today!' We just rubbed our hands and went out there to try and work the defenders on the day, and it worked. That was the beginning of something great, and that’s how things happen in football sometimes.
"The problem Liverpool have got is Florian Wirtz. That might cause a little bit of an issue because of the money he has come in on too. But Slot has to trust himself and trust his instincts on whether Ekitike and Isak can score goals together because they can both score goals as individuals.
"You’d think together they are only going to be a bigger threat for their opposition."
Wirtz has been used in a number of different positions since his arrival. In his last two outings he played on the left flank; he performed well in the 1-0 win over Real Madrid, but failed to have an impact at City. Ekitike has also failed to score in his last four games and was subbed before the hour-mark at the Etihad Stadium.
Isak has struggled with injury issues since his move to Anfield and was an unused substitute during the loss to City.
Provided he remains fit during the international break, Slot should have all three of his new attackers available to start in Liverpool's next game against Nottingham Forest at home.