With the departures of multiple forwards such as Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota on the cards for Liverpool this summer, replacing the outgoings is becoming increasingly important.
Anyone not named Mohamed Salah or Cody Gakpo has been underwhelming from a goal contribution standpoint this season. Darwin Nunez, despite most fans’ wish for him to develop into the world-class striker he has shown flashes of, has fallen flat this season. Diogo Jota faces more injury issues than ever before. And Luis Diaz cannot remain consistent enough to provide an outlet on the opposite flank to Salah.
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Many names have been linked with the Reds this season amid the expectation of a very busy Summer window. According to the Daily Mail, Eintracht Frankfurt’s 22-year-old striker, Hugo Ekitike is high on the list. Liverpool have been scouting the young Frenchman for some time with his name likely to remain in Liverpool transfer conversations until his future is decided. The German outfit are demanding a fee of at least £67million to part ways with the forward.
With twenty-seven goal contributions across thirty-eight appearances, averaging a goal or assist every 102 minutes it is not surprising to see the buzz around Ekitike.
One of the other massive names being linked with a move to Merseyside this Summer is Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. With a quoted price in excess of £100million, it may seem to rich for Richard Hughes taste.
The ”Moneyball’ model used at Liverpool is about finding the next Isak, not paying through the nose for the current one, allowing the club to stay ahead of the curve in player acquisition and financial health.
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With Isak having twenty-eight goal contributions in his thirty-three appearances this season is eerily similar to the output of the Frenchman. Averaging a goal or assist every 93 minutes.
But how do the two players match up, profile-wise? It’s all well and good to put the ball in the net but if you offer not much else, you won’t integrate into this Liverpool squad well by any means.
It would appear that Hugo Ekitike is the next Alexander Isak. It really would not come as a shock that if Isak was to leave Newcastle in the Summer that the Toon would pursue Ekitike as his replacement.
One part of the profile for Hugo that has him high on Liverpool’s potential list of targets is the pressing capabilities. Arne Slot love to have his forwards work hard and press from the front. While both players engage in similar tackling of dribblers, Ekitike is by far and ahead the better player with breaking up play from the front with his tackles and interceptions. He averages a 71st percentile best 0.27 tackles won per 90 minutes in the final third.
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If you want the next Isak, at nearly half the quoted cost Newcastle will demand, Eintracht Frankfurt have your answer. His name is Hugo Ekitike.