Breaking Down the Pros and Cons of Liverpool Signing Hugo Ekitike

On Wednesday 23rd July, Liverpool announced the signing of French striker Hugo Ekitike. The former PSG, Frankfurt and Reims man joins on a six-year-deal for an initial £69m.

The 6'3 striker enjoyed 18 months in Germany, where he played some of the best football of his still young career.

Ekitike has joined up with his new teammates in Hong Kong and will more than likely be part of Arne Slot's plans for the upcoming game against Yokohama, next Wednesday.

It was during the 2021/22 season when he first sprung onto the scene of European football.

In his first full season of professional football, Ekitike or Heki, as his Twitter and Frankfurt call him, scored 11 goals and provided four assists for his hometown club, Stade de Reims.

That season brought attention to Ekitike and, ultimately, he chose PSG as his next destination. His career somewhat faltered at this point with a year spent playing backup to one of the best front three's ever assembled, on paper.

After his move to Paris was made permanent he then spent a further 6 months getting cameo appearances before a mid-season loan move to Frankfurt.

This was another loan move that was made permanent and that leads us to how Liverpool executed the deal and swooped in to get their man.

Now the formalities are out of the way, let's look at the pros and the cons of this deal from an LFC perspective.

Pros

High Upside.

The 23-year-old striker has been long touted as a future star of French and World football. Ekitike tallied 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 games during 2024‑25, averaging a goal or assist every 107 minutes.

This is an incredible output for such a young player. While there are still some impurities to his game, Arne Slot is one of the best to be able to refine his potential and allow him to go supernova and reach his maximum.

Something that we will touch on more later is the underrated technical skill that Hugo Ekitike
possesses at 6'3, many would label him as a similar player to Gyokeres or Haaland.

However, Ekitike has a similar play style to Isak, both being lanky, and strong, yet fabulously gifted with the ball at their feet.

Technical and Tactical Versatility

As mentioned prior, Ekitike joins as a multi-functional forward. He is extremely comfortable as a central striker, but can come on as a supporting forward or if Slot wants to experiment further he may allow him to drift wide, making him fit Slot’s dynamic 4‑2‑3‑1 system.

Ekitike possesses strong link-up play, as he is known for his ability to combine, dribble, and create chances.

In the past season before Marmoush left Frankfurt, the two were linking up wonderfully, becoming a dynamic duo for the German side.

Alongside his strong on-the-ball ability, an underrated part of Ekitike's game is his pressing. The high work-rate and off-ball pressing align perfectly with Liverpool’s high-intensity style.

At 6’3, he adds a physical dimension and aerial presence that Liverpool sometimes lacked up front.

Cons

Block any move for Isak?

Ekitike's move has been covered majorly over the past week, it seemed like it could be one or the other for Liverpool, in regards to Ekitike and Isak.

Ekitike's move has been completed with no real fuss and in devastatingly efficient fashion, exactly how the LFC recruitment team like it.

This could, in theory, prevent LFC from making any moves for the now, transfer listed Alexander Isak.

However, according to reports this may not be the case. It still does make any move for Isak a bit more problematic, will Ekitike be willing to play understudy once again in his short career?

He will have learnt from his time at PSG. Playing sparing minutes here and there will never be enough to fully develop as a player, even if you are learning from the best.

Huge transfer fee invites pressure

Liverpool are paying £69 million plus add-ons, potentially going up to £79 million, making him one of the club’s most expensive signings.

That level of investment puts immense pressure on him to deliver immediately, and with how the last developmental striker signing went, it may cause slight PTSD for some fans.

His £69m price tag carries big expectations and he has no Premier League experience yet. Plus, there’s no guarantee his Bundesliga success (22 goals, 12 assists) will translate to England.