Only Haaland is averaging more goals per 90 minutes in this season's Premier League than Ekitike, but it's not even just a question of strike-rate. His influence on Liverpool's play is increasing with each passing week.
In stark contrast to the painfully ineffective Isak, he's getting more and more touches, and having more and more shots - which is now making Meulensteen's claim that the Swede is the more "rounded" player look surprisingly wide of the mark.
Even Slot has admitted that Ekitike has that 'X factor' that gets fans - and even managers - on their feet. Perhaps more importantly than anything else, though, he's willing to run himself into the ground for the cause, as underlined by his cramp-enforced withdrawal against Brighton.
"The goals he scored were good goals but there were other moments I thought 'wow!'" Slot told Match of the Day. "And that, of course, is why we wanted him, apart from the goals. So, it is good to see he and others who came in the summer are improving. They had to adapt to the Premier League, to that intensity, because they were all young except for Alex (Isak), but I see all of them making progress.
"So, while Hugo had cramp, I can assure you that he did probably twice as much today as in games at the beginning of the season where I had to take him off with cramp as well."