Hugo Ekitike has given Arne Slot a 'nice problem' at Liverpool that shouldn't get twisted

Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz have been in great form for Liverpool lately and will look to continue that against Manchester City this weekend in the Champions League race

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot signed Hugo Ekitike last summer(Image: Kate McShane/Getty Images)

Even though Liverpool is yet to have Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike fully fit and firing at the same time, it appears to have become a widely held view that having two world-class number nines can quickly become an issue.

Reds legend Jamie Carragher was among the first to make the point in the summer, while others have since put forward the theory that the money splashed on Isak should have been lumped on a center-back instead.

Of course, with Isak having essentially missed the entire season through injury and Liverpool looking light of defensive options, it is an easy point to make in hindsight. Liverpool didn't buy the Swede just for now, though, but for the next few years.

Ekitike has been sensational of late — really dovetailing nicely with the ever-improving Florian Wirtz — but adding Isak into that mix when he is fit again is a luxury, not a problem.

"It’s looking good," Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith exclusively told Liverpool.com this week. "[Ekitike and Wirtz] are doing well and the fact that those two are building up an understanding is great news for Liverpool.

"Ekitike is a fine player, a brilliant finisher. The way he’s taken to life at Liverpool has been very impressive indeed. Wirtz has taken his time, but he’s showing his qualities and his class now. That’s been the plus point for Liverpool.

Hugo Ekitike is having a great debut season at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

"[Isak] might well play with them. It’s two lads bought for a lot of money. Both want to be playing in their favored positions, so we’ll see how that one pans out. It might be that, maybe Mo Salah drops out. We’ll see, but it’s a nice problem to have for Arne Slot."

Next season, at which point Isak should be back and Ekitike will have had a full season under his belt, Liverpool will have multiple options in attack — exactly what every top team challenging on multiple fronts needs.

Ekitike can play off the left and Slot has, at times, deployed a front two. In any case, Mohamed Salah is not going to be around forever, and things will look different when he departs.

"I did his first game back after the AFCON at Bournemouth," Smith, speaking on behalf of Best Betting Sites, said. "I don’t know whether he can reach the levels that he has reached so often in the past.

"So, probably I would say the summer would be the right time to wave goodbye. But he’s been one of Liverpool’s all-time greats, no question about that."

Whether Salah remains at Anfield at the start of next season or not, Liverpool's attacking unit will only benefit by having Isak added into the mix as well.

Liverpool inarguably needs more depth at center-back — though the agreement for Jeremy Jacquet will help — but it is wrong to suggest that Isak shouldn't have been bought. It simply doesn't need to be one or another.