Liverpool spent much more money than any other club in world football this past summer on transfers, and while the reigning Premier League champions have very little to show for it, in all honesty, they do at least have young striker Hugo Ekitike.
People can still debate the merits of the other major attacking transfers in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, but absolutely nobody can debate that the 79 million pounds spent on the Eintracht Frankfurt man were anything but money well spent.
Ekitike has scored a team high eight goals for Liverpool in the Premier League this season, and he displayed the full extent of his finishing prowess in the Champions League this week against underrated side Qarabag as part of a 6-0 win.
The 23 year old French international scored and assisted in 66 minutes, taking his goal well while providing two key passes and three dribbles completed in an all around display of attacking excellence.
Ekitike has been everything Darwin Nunez was not for Liverpool. He has been consistent, reliable, and someone who can actually finish off chances in important games and beat big opponents.
Now, Qarabag are not big opponents and Liverpool won by a lot, but Ekitike has the touch and shooting accuracy that Liverpool were missing in the last few seasons, even when they were better overall last year.
It really shows you how much Arne Slot is underperforming that he now has a world class finisher in Ekitike, as well as Isak, and yet Liverpool still can’t get the job done in the Premier League.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.