BETTER THAN TORRES? THE CURIOUS REASON JAMIE CARRAGHER IS HAILING HUGO EKITIKE
Hugo Ekitike has taken Anfield by storm with 15 goals and a work ethic that has Jamie Carragher comparing him to Fernando Torres.
Hugo Ekitike could’ve just checked into the Rosewood hotel and crashed after his 6,000-mile flight from London to Hong Kong in July. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to dive straight into those soft sheets and shake off the jet lag? But Ekitike had other plans. Instead of heading to Liverpool’s fancy digs on Victoria Dockside, he made his way to Kai Tak Stadium. He wanted to set the right tone from day one—and that meant football, not rest.
The crowd of 25,000 at the open training session didn’t see it coming. Suddenly, there he was—Liverpool’s newest £79m signing—being introduced on the pitch, meeting his new teammates for the first time. You could feel the buzz. That moment said a lot about Ekitike. He’s not the type to let big opportunities slip by. From the second he landed in Asia, he looked determined to hit the ground running.
Now he’s got fifteen goals this season. If he keeps it up, he’ll be Liverpool’s first top scorer not named Mohamed Salah since Coutinho, way back in 2015. And it’s not like he’s had it easy. Salah’s form has been up and down, and Isak’s been in and out with injuries, but Ekitike has picked up the slack. Anfield’s noticed.
What’s interesting is how relaxed he stays under all this pressure. People who know him talk about his easygoing nature—always friendly, always upbeat. The results don’t seem to shake him. That hug with the canteen staff that went viral? That’s just Ekitike being himself. He stands out on the pitch, too. He’s got a bold sense of style and an Instagram feed that keeps his teammates laughing. He’s not trying to fit in—he’s just himself, all the time.
After the 6-0 win over Qarabag last week, he summed it up in his own words: “I’d say my start’s been good. Sure, I could do better—or worse—but I’m happy. The big thing for me was settling in off the pitch with my teammates. That matters. Everything I do with them, even training, helps me play better. I’m happy, but I want more. I expect more from myself, so I’ve got to keep working.”
He joined Liverpool the same summer as Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, both ex-Bayer Leverkusen guys, and they’ve become tight. Another important figure? Ibrahima Konate, his French national teammate and a few years older, has helped show him the ropes.
Konate shared a story on Canal+ that kind of sums up Ekitike’s work ethic. After a tough training session, they were supposed to hit the gym. Ekitike was wiped out. Konate told him, “Come on, let’s go.” Ekitike groaned, “I’m dead.” Technically, the gym session was optional, but Konate pushed him: “Do you want to play for the French national team or not?” A minute later, Ekitike was in the gym. Konate laughed about it, but he made it clear—Ekitike’s diligent, and he’s only going to get better.
Liverpool first got in touch with Ekitike’s agent, Karl Mwalako Buchmann, around January. Arne Slot spoke to Ekitike at the end of the season. There’s this idea that Liverpool swooped in and beat Newcastle at the last minute, but inside the club, they say the groundwork started way earlier.
Talking about it before the Newcastle game, Slot said, “I spoke to him—that was my part. I don’t know all the details of the negotiations, honestly. My focus was on the team and getting ready for pre-season. But I talked to Hugo early in the window and tried to convince him to join us, and then Richard Hughes, ownership, and Michael Edwards—they all got it done. We’re really happy he’s here. I can’t tell you everything about how it went, but in the end, he’s a Liverpool player.”
Wirtz and Ekitike have really started to click over the past few months. Together, they’ve become the youngest Liverpool duo—23 and 22—to link up for six Premier League goals. No other pair in the league has managed that this season, not even Haaland and Doku at City.
“Playing with Hugo is just fun. He’s a great guy, and honestly, we go way back to our Bundesliga days,” Wirtz says. “We swapped shirts when he was at Frankfurt, and I already knew he was good, but he’s surprised me here. He’s even better than I thought. He gets how I move, we connect naturally on the pitch, and it just works.”
Jamie Carragher stirred things up this week, saying, “I think Ekitike is a better player than Fernando Torres.” When people started comparing the Wirtz-Ekitike partnership to the old Torres-Gerrard link, Carragher added, “Maybe he won’t score as many, but Torres needed Gerrard at Liverpool." Ekitike doesn’t have to lean on Wirtz the same way—but if these two keep it up, he could match Torres for goals.”
Footballers are a superstitious bunch, and Ekitike’s got his own routine now. Every time Liverpool arrives at a new ground, you’ll spot him soaking in the atmosphere, FaceTiming family and friends so they know where he is. It’s his thing, and honestly, it seems to be working.
When Liverpool scouted Ekitike for the summer shortlist, the data showed only Haaland and Mbappé had better numbers at his age in the areas Liverpool cared about. That’s some serious company. Sure, some people roll their eyes at those comparisons, but the club really believes Ekitike has the potential to become one of the world’s top strikers.
Behind the scenes at Anfield, people are impressed by how quickly he’s settled in. But now comes the hard part: staying consistent and building up the stamina to handle playing three full matches a week in the most demanding league around.
With Isak out after breaking his leg—he never really got going this season anyway, thanks to missing pre-season and the messy exit from Newcastle—Ekitike has led the line as a classic No. 9. Still, the coaches see him as versatile enough to play deeper or out wide as needed.
Eventually, there’s a real chance he and Isak could form a frightening partnership up front. Remember, Isak became the most expensive player in British football on September 1 with that £125 million move.
Ekitike’s brilliant first season has made some people question why Liverpool even bothered signing Isak. But there’s room for both, especially looking ahead to life after Salah—whenever that day comes.
For now, though, the spotlight’s firmly on Ekitike. And he looks like he belongs right at the centre of it.
ARNE SLOT’S REALISTIC STANCE ON ALEXANDER ISAK’S RETURN DOMINATES LIVERPOOL FAN FORUMS
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Alexander Isak needs a six-week lead-up to reach the levels seen in last season's final.
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Arne Slot has confirmed that Alexander Isak will be back in time for Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain. However, he urged patience about when fans might see the £125 million forward in top form again, as Isak has been out since late 2025 due to a broken leg.
Isak suffered the injury during Liverpool’s win over Tottenham in December, caught by defender Micky van de Ven shortly after scoring in the second half. Now, the Swedish striker is gradually easing back with light training but won’t be joining the national squad during the break, still working through the final stages of rehab before returning to competitive play.
Slot mentioned the team might consider a closed-door friendly to help Isak regain match fitness, but clarified that he hasn’t rejoined regular team training yet. While Slot welcomes the striker’s return eagerly, he also recognises the likelihood that supporters might have to wait until next season to see Isak performing at his best.
“Alex will be available for PSG, yes,” Slot said on Friday. “But when we talk about being ready, if you’re expecting the player who starred against us a year ago in the Carabao Cup final, who was exceptional on that day, I have doubts after such a long layoff. I do expect to get minutes from him, but it’s hard to say what exactly because he hasn’t trained with the team even once yet.
“He’s not able to train with the team yet. Usually, rehab comes before team training starts, and only after that do you play games. It’s not like you go from one training to playing 45 or 90 minutes straight away.
“If we organise a friendly during the international break, it would probably have to be a very light setup, maybe something like three versus three. We have the under-21s, but Alex isn’t ready to play yet. If he were, he would be with Sweden. The fans will certainly see the best version of him next season. We’re aiming to get close to that this season, but it’s a process.
“I’m as excited as the fans to have him back because, honestly, in about 90 per cent of our matches, we’ve created more chances than the opposition. Having one of the world’s best strikers out there usually means picking up more points. So the excitement about his return, given how good he was at Newcastle, is understandable.
“I don’t want to diminish his impact; he can make a difference this season. But if you ask whether next season is more realistic for him to reach his best than right now, I’d say yes. Also, he probably won’t be available against Man City, but for the next couple of months, we’ll definitely try to use him.”
Slot also touched on the possibility of Isak playing in an under-21 game. “That’s something I can’t answer yet. We think about those options with players returning from injury. If he must get match practice, we would arrange a friendly. But it’s not as simple as 'one game back, and then he’s back to his peak'; it takes time.
“There’s also pre-season coming up, which might be the right moment for him to build up gradually. Players typically have around six to seven weeks to ramp up before the season, and it’s rare to see anyone at their best in the very first pre-season game.”
ARNE SLOT CONFIRMS SALAH & GOMEZ FITNESS DOUBT AHEAD OF HIGH STAKES BRIGHTON TRIP
Arne Slot confirms Mohamed Salah will miss the Brighton game with a muscle injury while dismissing Liverpool contract talks.
Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slot, recently spoke with the media ahead of their match against Brighton, sharing updates on Mohamed Salah, his own contract situation, and what to expect from the upcoming game on the south coast.
Regarding Salah’s injury, Slot described it as unusual and obviously means Salah won’t be available for the match. However, the timing isn’t terrible since there’s an international break coming up. Sadly, that also means Salah can’t join the Egypt squad during that period. Slot expressed hope that Salah, known for taking excellent care of his body, might recover faster than usual. Historically, the player has bounced back sooner than others might in similar cases. The team will reassess after the two weeks of the break to see if he can return.
Joe Gomez was on the bench but didn’t get to play because he wasn’t feeling right, even before the game started. Slot mentioned trying to hold off during the game in case he was needed in extra time, but ultimately, Gomez wasn’t ready to start or come on.
When the topic shifted to whether Slot was considering a new contract, he seemed surprised and quickly redirected the conversation back to the team’s immediate challenges. He pointed out that the team has been winning more often in recent months than some realise and that his current focus is firmly on Brighton and the rest of the season, especially as Liverpool has reached the Champions League quarter-final but needs to improve their league standing. Slot emphasised the season will be a fight to the end and confirmed discussions about contracts, particularly his own, weren’t happening.
Looking ahead to the Brighton game, Slot expects it to be an intense and attractive match because Brighton always tries to play an active, possession-based style. This makes preparation tougher since Liverpool only has about 62 hours of rest after a physically demanding midweek match. He raised concerns about some key players, like Jeremie Frimpong, who’s prone to injuries when matches come quickly, and now with Gomez out, there are tough decisions to make. Slot described Brighton as a team that doesn’t shy away from intensity and is ready to match Liverpool’s pace, making the upcoming fixture exciting but challenging.
On Liverpool’s struggles to score in the first half, Slot acknowledged the issue but wasn’t satisfied with just dividing the problem into halves. He said the team creates plenty of chances and should be scoring more, given the quality of their offence overall. More importantly, he stressed the team must be prepared mentally and physically from the start. That means handling the emotional and physical strain of recent tough matches and facing a Brighton side that will come at them aggressively in a midday kick-off.
Speaking of the 12:30 pm kick-off times, Slot doesn’t mind them much. He noted that training often happens around that time anyway, so the actual kickoff isn’t strange for the players. However, backing up from a demanding schedule with limited rest between fixtures is not ideal, especially when looking for peak performance. He implied that while the time itself isn’t a problem, having such a tight turnaround after intense games isn’t something a manager would choose if they could avoid it.
Finally, on the question of whether Dominik Szoboszlai might be played at right-back again, Slot was quite clear: Szoboszlai is fundamentally a midfielder. When he’s deployed elsewhere, it’s usually because of squad limitations rather than a tactical experiment. If there are fit and available fullbacks, Szoboszlai will play in midfield where he belongs. Slot also pointed out the risks involved in playing him out of position, especially if a natural full-back is fit enough to take the spot. He acknowledged Szoboszlai’s versatility but emphasised that the best Liverpool team is with him in midfield. In cases where many players are unavailable, the decision to move Szoboszlai to full-back is a pragmatic one, though not the ideal setup.
In sum, Slot’s remarks highlight how injuries continue to shape Liverpool’s options, the realistic challenges of fixture congestion, and a focus on steady progress rather than contract talks or distractions. The upcoming match against Brighton promises to test the squad’s physical and mental resilience, but Slot seems determined to navigate those hurdles with clear priorities.
