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Hugo Ekitke has revealed which of his Liverpool team-mates has helped him settle quickest since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The forward joined the Reds in a deal worth up to $107 million and made an immediate start to life at Anfield, netting in his first three competitive games. That early-season form resulted in Ekitike earning a maiden call-up to the French national team.
He was one of two Liverpool representatives in Didier Deschamps’ latest squad, along with Ibrahima Konate. Unsurprisingly, it’s the Liverpool center-back who Ekitike claims has helped him adapt best to his new surroundings.
“I think the most important person when I came here was Ibou, to be honest,” the 23-year-old told Australian outlet Stan Sport in a recent interview.
“He’s been in the club for four years, so he knows everything here. He knows the people so he helped me a lot with everything off the pitch and on the pitch.
“The other players helped me more on the pitch, connection, links to find my position here. But Ibou has been really important for me here,” Ekitike added.
“The other players helped me to settle well in the team, in the training ground. I found my house quickly, so all these things helped me to just think about football and be focused on my job on the pitch. It’s been good.
“The intensity is high here, on the ball and off the ball. I work way more in the gym here and with the athletic coaches, but in terms of pure football, I just play my football and I have good players around me. They make that easy.”
Ekitike started all of his first five matches after signing for Liverpool, but his long-term future in the team looks uncertain following the arrival of Alexander Isak.
The ex-Newcastle United man went straight into the line-up against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, meaning Ekitike dropped to the bench.
He was introduced with just over half an hour left and failed to convert a late chance from point-blank range that would have sewn up all three points.
Ekitike’s ability to play off the left wing was cited as a factor in Liverpool’s decision to sign the player this summer, but Arne Slot seemed to imply on Wednesday that he plans to predominantly deploy Ekitike as a central striker.
“Hugo could be a player that plays off the left side, not like the way Cody [Gakpo] or Mo [Salah] is playing with holding the width and taking on the one vs ones, but he could become a second striker," the Liverpool head coach told TNT Sports.
"But in general, I think both of them [Isak and Ekitike] are more No.9s than any other position.”
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