Liverpool played the first game of the 2025/26 Premier League season on Friday and Hugo Ekitike has so far stood out as the top attacking recruit in England this summer.
So far, Liverpool have have only added one attacker in Ekitike while the attacking midfield attion of Florian Wirtz has already added a very valuable new attribute to Arne Slot’s squad.
The Reds agreed a £79m deal with Bayer Leverkusen this summer and 22-year-old Ekitike has already showcased his immense potential with a goal and an assist against Bournemouth.
The underlying numbers were excellent too. The Frenchman played two key passes, won 11 duels and covered 8.7km in his 73 minutes on the pitch including a full length sprint to cover in defence shortly after bursting forward in attack.
Ekitike running all the way back to defend is everything Slot wants in a player, he’s rapid asf too
pic.twitter.com/43VUZrN8zj
— AS (fan) (@ArneSlotBall) August 16, 2025
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer sign Hugo Ekitike’s praises after stunning Anfield debut
While it’s still very early, Ekitike looked by far the most promising of the new attackers in the Premier League.
Players from the Bundesliga are never given much backing to succeed in the England top flight but Ekitike has so far made light work of Crystal Palace and Bournemouth with two goals and an assist in two games.
“We saw Joao Pedro… not much happened for him after his glory in the Club World Cup final,” Lineker said on the Rest Is Football podcast.
“We saw Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal, he didn’t really get a kick, and Benjamin Sesko came on relatively late [so] it’s hard to judge. But I think the one striker, the nines, who really stood out for me in an impressive debut was Ekitike.”
Shearer replied: “Yeah, he carried on from last weekend, didn’t he, in the Community Shield. It was interesting to hear him talk after the game.
“In terms of him saying the physicality of the Premier League, he’s had slightly different [experiences]. One minute he’s going up against a big center half in a scrap, but I think he’s got the intelligence also to drop off like he did for his goal.
“It was a lovely run to get the ball short, then find the space in the middle and go in behind. He might have got a little bit of luck in the ricochet with the tackle, but the way he finished it off.
“And of course linking up with Cody Gakpo, that goal as well, I think he played a large part in that with his hold-up play, the turn, and the pass, and all that. It’s a very, very promising start from him.”