[Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) striker had a whale of a ball game for the Reds in their 5-2 blowout win over West Ham United in the Premier League, scoring once and assisting twice for his first assists of the calendar year 2026 in the kind of all around perfomance that the club envisioned when they signed him this past summer transfer window.
Of course, Ekitike was the first of the top strikers Liverpool inked in the window, bagging the young star from Eintracht Frankfurt before spending even more money on Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
While the jury is still very much out on Isak at this point, Kopites are unequivocally smitten with Ekitike, and, at this point, every single fan at Anfield has to be looking at all the big money strikers who got signed this summer at other clubs and feel like despite his 80 million euro fee, Liverpool came away with the best overall deal.
Joao Pedro has been great for Chelsea, Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade has promise despite the media narratives, Benjamin Sesko is starting to roll for a suddenly competent Manchester United, and Viktor Gyokeres has been way more important to Arsenal than many want to admit.
But Ekitike has all those guys beat. After his scintillating performance in decimating West Ham, Ekitike is at 11 goals, 4 assists, and 1.4 dribbles completed per game for the Reds in the 2025/26 Premier League season.
When it comes to all around quality as a creator, dribbler, and scorer, Ekitike is in a league of his own from the others, and the Frenchman is still just 23 years old. Liverpool fans are confident they got the best of the summer striker signings, and it feels like he is still truly waiting to explode.
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.