Hugo Ekitike receives ultimate compliment from Arne Slot as star continues to impress

Arne Slot has given a ringing endorsement of Hugo Ekitike, as the Frenchman continues to outshine fellow summer signing Alexander Isak in the battle for the number nine

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has heaped praise upon Hugo Ekitike.(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool has not had the smoothest of title defenses by any means. But if there is one bright spot, it is certainly Hugo Ekitike.

The summer transfer business brought huge optimism, with Arne Slot appearing to strengthen from a position of strength. But acquisitions that seemed like very safe bets have struggled to get up to speed.

There have been one or two signs of life from Milos Kerkez recently, and Florian Wirtz is slowly starting to exert more influence. But while Alexander Isak finally has his first league goal, there's absolutely no doubt that it is Ekitike who has flown out of the traps the fastest.

In fairness, it's not as though he was an insignificant investment. Liverpool agreed a deal worth up to $106 million (£79 million), and his arrival was met with excitement.

But when the club managed to get the Isak transfer over the line as well, Ekitike suddenly found himself shunted down the pecking order. Even after a fast start to life at the club, Slot wasted little time in benching the arrival from Frankfurt for the new Premier League record signing.

However, as the weeks and months have gone on, Ekitike has left his manager with increasingly little choice but to start him. Nonetheless, Slot has denied that his expectations have been surpassed, paying the 23-year-old a major compliment in the process.

"No he didn't [surpass expectations] because we knew who we had signed," Slot told a press conference ahead of the Spurs game. "He had to go off in the Brighton game after 70 minutes with cramp but he almost did double the work [of] 3 months ago when he also went off with cramp.

"His ability to score, his technique, speed, he has all this, so no-one is surprised to see it. But he has improved a lot how much he runs in the games and works.

"That is a big help for the team as well, so that is important for No.9 as well. In our talks, I have probably told him what I expect more defensively from him than offensively, [so] I am more excited to see what he is doing defensively."

Arne Slot has praised Ekitike for improved defensive work.(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Even with Jurgen Klopp long gone, this is still some of the highest praise a Liverpool striker can receive. At all levels, there is an understanding that the collective defensive effort starts from the front.

And if Slot is growing more satisifed with Ekitike in this regard, then the striker is rapidly becoming the complete package. After all, there has been no cause for complaint whatsoever on the offensive end.

If anything, Slot has played this down by claiming Liverpool already knew what it was getting in an attacking sense. The reality is that Ekitike converted well below his expected goals last season, but has found a real clinical streak in his first Anfield campaign.

The only person for whom this is bad news is Isak. The Swede's lethal touch in front of goal is exactly what was meant to set him apart, and all the while he still looks like he's trying to find the sharpness to put in the required running on the defensive side.

But while this is an expensive dilemma, it's also one that is nice for Slot to have. In Ekitike, he has an increasingly well-rounded striker who can meet the demands of the Liverpool system: how everything else fits around that can work itself out with time.