How Ekitike has already become a Liverpool cult hero

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

Isak’s chance will certainly come again, but while the record £125m summer signing is sidelined with a broken leg, all he can do is watch and admire his fellow forward. So far, there is plenty to admire.

It is testament to the way Ekitike has adapted to life in the Premier League that no-one has suggested Liverpool have missed or need Sweden international Isak back in a hurry.

The numbers alone are impressive – 15 goals and four assists in all competitions since his £79m move from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.

When the 23-year-old netted in the FA Cup last month, he became only the second Liverpool player to score in five different competitions during their debut campaign, alongside Kenny Dalglish. Talk about good company.

Yet beyond the numbers is a dynamic forward who has serious pace, reads the game intelligently, can link up well and above all, can finish.

In recent weeks, Ekitike has been compared to Fernando Torres, arguably one of the best finishers Liverpool have had in the 21st century, and received high praise from Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.

Shearer described Ekitike’s second goal against Newcastle as “world class”, while Rooney said the Frenchman was “one of, if not the best signing in the Premier League” this season.

“He’s the type of player I like to watch. He’s not a number nine, he’s not a number 10. He drifts out wide, gets on the ball, brings players into the game and he can score goals. He’s got a bit of everything really,” added Manchester United’s record goalscorer on his podcast.

What makes Ekitike so impressive is the range of scenarios he thrives in due to his expansive skillset. An unusual toe-poked finish for that goal against Newcastle sparked conversation, but it’s a deliberate tool he has in his locker.

In a behind-the-scenes training video from July, Ekitike scored in an identical manner. For both goals, his shooting leg barely swings back, which prevents keepers from being able to read the kind of shot he will take.

It was back in January 2025 when Liverpool first got in contact with Ekitike’s camp, with boss Arne Slot speaking directly to the frontman at the end of last season.

Liverpool genuinely believed he could develop into one of Europe’s top forwards, with the data playing a key role in convincing them to push ahead with a deal.

Since the 2020-21 season, the period where they have the strongest and most detailed tracking data, the top under-23 strikers in their assessment were Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Isak and Ekitike.

Newcastle came close to signing him in the summer, but Ekitike’s heart was set on Liverpool. By all accounts, he has settled into life on Merseyside rapidly, moving into the house that was previously occupied by Luis Diaz.

Instagram dumps are a talking point between most of the Liverpool squad off the pitch and Ekitike is already a fan favourite, with the content of his dumps the talk of social media.

The posts on His “Finsta” account – which is essentially a second Instagram account that takes followers behind the scenes – tend to go viral. At its core is a man entirely comfortable in being his own self.

Last week, Liverpool posted a video with the caption ‘Hugo Hugs’, with Ekitike hugging one of the canteen staff that did the rounds.

In December, he asked a well-known football boot reseller to meet him at the club’s training ground, but when the reseller couldn’t access the premises, Ekitike asked him to follow his car to the nearby petrol station, where he then took pictures and signed autographs with fans. That’s the kind of guy he is.

On the pitch, Slot recognised his raw attributes from the outset and said Ekitike’s biggest improvement was his work-rate off the ball.

Some maverick attackers forego defensive work – excused by their great output further forward – but the former Reims and Paris St-Germain player has instead bought into his manager’s instructions, when the opposition builds out from the back.

Mohamed Salah would be asked to press high in previous seasons, on the left of a central defender, alongside the Liverpool striker, while Liverpool’s right-back or a midfielder would jump up to press the opposition left-back. This aggressive press helped Liverpool win the ball higher, but left them with fewer players deeper.

A key focus has been working on his physical profile – a conversation that was initially tricky, with Slot admitting that, at times, Ekitike needed convincing.

One of those conversations involved Slot explaining that if he could help defend a set-piece, it would be easier to score because the opposition tend to be more open when it’s 0-0, rather than when Liverpool are trailing.

“Still, he needs to get stronger,” Slot insisted in December. “But he’s already become stronger. I don’t think he’s changed a lot with his offensive qualities – he’s fast, he can score, he’s got great footwork and dribbling skills. He has so much in his locker. I think he’s adjusted to the Premier League now. The biggest thing to improve is that, with his physique and how fast he is, he can become physically outstanding.”

Ekitike is now reaping the rewards in a similar manner to Florian Wirtz, with last summer’s signings going through individualised bulking programmes to prepare them for the physicality of two to three games a week at this level. The focus of that has been building muscle, durability and improving recovery between games and training.

As one Liverpool source said: “Both would see the improvements when they look in the mirror.”

Having both arrived from the Bundesliga, Liverpool’s attacking duo have also struck an ever-improving connection on the pitch too.

“It is so much fun to play with him (Ekitike) because he knows how you move on the pitch and how you link up with each other,” former Bayer Leverkusen star Wirtz told BBC Sport.

The concept of associative play refers to how well a player links up with his team-mates. Former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino specialised in this, with Wirtz and Ekitike following suit, knitting together slick moves, often through diagonal passes or clever flicks.

Combining in this manner is a riskier approach but when it works, it has great upside. Quick small-space one-twos help break down stubborn defences but making this work consistently will come as their chemistry develops.

With Liverpool’s obvious difficulties against low blocks, using this part of Ekitike’s game will pay dividends as time passes.

The way Ekitike is going, it will be a healthy selection dilemma for Slot once Isak returns from injury. There is certainly room for both forwards but right now, it’s hard to envisage Liverpool starting a game without Ekitike leading the line.

He has scored or assisted every 112 minutes in the Premier League this season, which is the best ratio by a Liverpool player in their first season at the club since Salah in 2017-18 – one every 70 minutes.

Against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, the Premier League’s top scorer in Erling Haaland will be at the other end.

“I think if I can add a little bit in my game it would be from his game,” Ekitike said in November, when asked about the prolific Norway international.

When BBC Sport sat down with Ekitike in October, he mentioned Whiplash and The Wolf of Wall Street as his two favourite films – two movies with themes of ambition and pursuit of greatness.