Liverpool had become champions and Eintracht Frankfurt had qualified for the Champions League but thoughts soon shifted to what came next. Or who came next, anyway. Arne Slot spoke to Hugo Ekitike at the end of last season. The caller can’t have come as a surprise to the striker. Liverpool had been in contact with his camp since January. Liverpool were preparing for Darwin Nunez’s departure. Ekitike had seen his sidekick Omar Marmoush leave in the winter window. Frankfurt may have supplanted Borussia Dortmund as the Bundesliga’s experts in identifying, improving and profiting from talent. The guarantee is that they will sell, if the price is right.
Slot can be a persuasive salesman; or perhaps his club afforded him the best pitch. Manchester United made a late approach and Liverpool could enjoy taking one of their targets. Newcastle made a bid, before Liverpool swooped: their interpretation was that the Magpies only turned to Ekitike after missing out on Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, though Eddie Howe’s interest in the Frenchman dated back three years, to his first window in charge. Regardless, Ekitike preferred Liverpool. “This was the best choice,” he said three weeks ago. “The champions of England. They have great players and history. It just fitted for what I was looking for.” He joined in July for an initial £69m.
A first return to the Deutsche Bank Park could have had the makings of a triumphant affair. Ekitike scored four minutes into his Liverpool career. He struck in his first three games for the club; not since Daniel Sturridge had anyone done that for Liverpool. Blessed with pace, brimming with talent, he was an instant crowd favourite. And yet he may be back in Frankfurt as a bit-part player.
And much of that is a consequence of Alexander Isak. Ekitike had the option of replacing the Swede at Newcastle instead of competing with him at Anfield. He would have been guaranteed a start in the Champions League this week. Instead, Ekitike may have been in an exclusive job-share of late, a £200m double act splitting the minutes. But the split may become uneven. With Isak fully up to speed now – according to Slot, anyway, who argues the £125m man has had a six-week pre-season of sorts – he could be in the bittersweet position of being the world’s finest second-choice striker.
Was this in Slot’s sales pitch? It is tempting to wonder. Ekitike joined after the tragic loss of Diogo Jota which, along with the sales of Nunez and Luis Diaz, meant Liverpool required two forwards; but two of such calibre and cost? Ekitike’s flying start prompted thoughts they did not need Isak as much as someone who could be an alternative or deputy to the Frenchman. Liverpool’s own rationale was that Ekitike had the potential to become one of the outstanding strikers in the global game, whereas Isak had already attained that status.
Ekitike toed the party line when he spoke in Istanbul three weeks ago. “I can’t see any big clubs playing with just one striker in the squad,” he said. “It is good that Alex is here.” But Isak’s price can give him preferential treatment and so far Isak has played 382 minutes for Liverpool. Ekitike has only been on the pitch for 16 of them: six against Galatasaray, 10 against Manchester United, when he looked much the sharper of the duo.
Slot is yet to fully address the question of how they coexist. They were paired in a gung-ho 4-2-4 formation on Sunday. In Istanbul, Ekitike operated off the wing. There is a tradition of sleek, quick French forwards who can accelerate infield from a starting position on the left flank – think Thierry Henry, think Kylian Mbappe – and he has some of the attributes to excel. Yet while Liverpool regard Ekitike as a multifunctional forward, it is nevertheless clear his best function is as a striker. Frankfurt offered a solution of sorts: Ekitike played up front with Marmoush, but it was in a 3-5-2 formation Slot is unlikely to adopt.
And so the Ekitike conundrum is how and where to use a player who seemed an inspired signing. Ekitike has been stripped of the momentum he acquired at the start of his Liverpool career, in part by being benched. He has now only begun one of their last five matches in all competitions, at Galatasaray. He has only played 44 minutes in Liverpool’s last three Premier League games; he is partly culpable for that, his sending-off against Southampton ruling him out of the trip to Crystal Palace. But even with that red card – deemed “stupid” by Slot and “not smart” by Ekitike himself – the decision to take off his shirt in celebration, to hold his name and number up, could be interpreted in the context of Isak, who had also scored. Was it Ekitike offering a reminder not to forget about him?
Because he has a history of being overlooked for more expensive strikers. Two years ago, Paris Saint-Germain, then with Mbappe, omitted him from their Champions League squad. It set him on a path that led to Liverpool via Frankfurt.
And meanwhile Eintracht’s fine traders have reacted in characteristic fashion to Ekitike’s departure. They signed Jonathan Burkardt from Mainz. He has six goals in his last six games. He will surely start the Ekitike derby this week. Ekitike may not.
