Hugo Ekitike is having an incredible debut season for Liverpool after his £78million move to Anfield in the summer.
While Liverpool have had their backs against the wall all season, the revelation that is Ekitike has been a consistent performer and one of the biggest positives of the season.
Dominik Szoboszlai is the undisputed Liverpool player of the season so far but Ekitike is not far behind him. Excitingly, he’s just getting started as well.
Arne Slot explains Hugo Ekitike substitution
Speaking to the press after Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 at Anfield, Slot fielded questions about why Ekitike was substituted while on a hat-trick, and the Dutchman explained in length.
Slot said to the media: “Just before I took him off there was a moment, I don’t know what happened, but I think he hardly could walk anymore because of cramp. What I see with him and I see this with all the players we’ve brought in this summer, they had to adapt to the Premier League, to that intensity, because they were all young. All the players we brought in are young players, except for Alex [Isak], but all the others are very young.
“So, adapting to the Premier League, that intensity, some of them had to adapt to the Premier League and [the] Champions League. I see all of them making progress in that. So, Hugo has cramp today but I can assure you that he did probably twice as much as in games in the beginning of the season where I had to take him off with cramp as well.
“That is what this league brings. If you cannot be so intense for such a long time, it’s so hard to win a game of football because the best players, athletes, in the world play in this league, and we are trying to prepare them more and more, better and better for that – and I can see that progress with most of our signings, maybe all of them.”
Liverpool are blessed to have Hugo Ekitike
Had Liverpool not been able to complete their £125million deal for Alexander Isak on Deadline Day, it’s strange to say that it would not have had any bearing on the season beyond squad depth.
Isak has struggled with fitness after not training during his strike against Newcastle United’s board. Now, he also seems to be struggling with the lack of confidence of a forward that hasn’t played much.
Ekiktike, however, looks even better than all the videos suggested before he arrived at the club.
After his brace against Brighton, the Frenchman broke the 10-goal barrier for the season and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. It was his second brace in back-to-back Premier League games and Liverpool’s first league win of December.