Hugo Ekitike: Liverpool striker welcomes £204m Alexander Isak partnership, makes ‘not smart’ confession ahead of first-team return

Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike believes that the British-record arrival of Alexander Isak at Anfield will aid his development and he welcomes the increased competition for places under head coach Arne Slot.

After winning the Premier League title last season in Slot’s first year at the club, Liverpool decided to splash the cash on bolstering the Dutchman’s first-team squad over the summer, with in excess of £450m spent on new players.

Ekitike was signed for a reported £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt and he has since made a promising start to life on the red side of Merseyside, scoring five goals in eight competitive appearances.

Liverpool opted to strengthen their forward line further by bringing in long-term target Isak from Newcastle United for a reported £125m on transfer deadline day, with the Swede having since started in three of the Reds’ last four games in all competitions.

Much has been made of how Slot may intend to use both forwards in his Liverpool team, with the £204m pair yet to play together for the Reds.

Ekitike, who once found himself down the pecking order behind Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar during his brief stint at Paris Saint-Germain, is not fazed by the competition at Liverpool and feels that playing alongside Isak in matches and in training will help him to develop as a player.

Ekitike: “It’s good that Isak is here”

“I think it’s good with players in such a big club,” Ekitike told reporters. “I can’t see one big club playing with only one striker, so I think it’s good that he’s here.

“Even for me at my age, I think I still have a lot of things to improve and learn, so for me it’s good that he’s here.

“[As for if we can play together] that’s for the coach to decide how he wants to play. That’s not me.

“But obviously it’s great players, I’ve been playing in two-striker composition, one-striker, so I can do a lot of things. If we have to play together, I can do that.”

Ekitike opted to join Liverpool before Isak’s arrival after turning down the opportunity to sign for Newcastle in the summer, and he has since justified his decision to make the move to Anfield.

“It was just the best choice,” the Frenchman said. “It’s the champions of England. For me, they have great players, a great history. It just fitted with what I was looking for after Frankfurt.”

“That wasn't smart”: Ekitike vows to learn from red card mistake

The 23-year-old is preparing to return to Liverpool’s matchday squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Galatasaray in Turkey, after missing the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Crystal Palace through suspension.

Ekitike, who was sorely missed at Selhurst Park as Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season, was shown a second yellow card for taking his shirt off after scoring a late winner in the Reds’ 2-1 EFL Cup win over Southampton last week, a decision that the striker now regrets.

"I think that wasn't smart," Ekitike admitted. "Obviously I punished myself alone, I'd say. I felt a bit disappointed to watch the boys from home last Saturday but, as I said [on Instagram], I’ve apologised to everybody already, to my teammates.

"That kind of thing won't happen again. I just move on now. I am just looking forward to playing and I just focus on football."

Ekitike is in contention to start, along with Isak, against Galatasaray, but fellow forward Federico Chiesa will miss Tuesday’s game with a “little niggle”.