Hugo Ekitike: How French striker has already develop into a cult hero at Liverpool – Worldwide Dispatch

As Hugo Ekitike walked off to the adulation of the Anfield crowd final Saturday and took his seat on the bench, Alexander Isak merely patted his Liverpool team-mate’s hair from behind. A finisher recognises a finisher.

Isak’s likelihood will definitely come once more, however whereas the file £125m summer season signing is sidelined with a damaged leg, all he can do is watch and admire his fellow ahead. Thus far, there’s a lot to admire.

It’s testomony to the way in which Ekitike has tailored to life within the Premier League that no-one has recommended Liverpool have missed or want Sweden worldwide Isak again in a rush.

The numbers alone are spectacular – 15 targets and 4 assists in all competitions since his £79m transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summertime.

When the 23-year-old netted within the FA Cup final month, he turned solely the second Liverpool participant to attain in 5 totally different competitions throughout their debut marketing campaign, alongside Kenny Dalglish. Speak about good firm.

But past the numbers is a dynamic ahead who has severe tempo, reads the sport intelligently, can hyperlink up properly and above all, can end.

In latest weeks, Ekitike has been in comparison with Fernando Torres, arguably the most effective finishers Liverpool have had within the twenty first century, and acquired excessive reward from Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.

Shearer described Ekitike’s second objective in opposition to Newcastle as “world class”, whereas Rooney stated the Frenchman was “certainly one of, if not the very best signing within the Premier League” this season.

“He is the kind of participant I like to observe. He is not a quantity 9, he isn’t a quantity 10. He drifts out vast, will get on the ball, brings gamers into the sport and he can rating targets. He is acquired a little bit of every part actually,” added Manchester United’s file goalscorer on his podcast.

What makes Ekitike so spectacular is the vary of eventualities he thrives in attributable to his expansive skillset. An uncommon toe-poked end for that objective in opposition to Newcastle sparked dialog, nevertheless it’s a deliberate instrument he has in his locker.

In a behind-the-scenes coaching video from July, Ekitike scored in an an identical method. For each targets, his capturing leg barely swings again, which prevents keepers from having the ability to learn the type of shot he’ll take.

Paired with the unusual nature of the strike, he is ready to catch opponents off-guard extra typically with these targets – drawing comparisons with legendary Brazilian ahead Romario, who was famed for his toe-poked finishes.