23 hours ago
6
Liverpool will walk into a cauldron for today's fixture against Newcastle United. Fairly or not, supporters of the Magpies have taken against the Reds for their pursuit of Alexander Isak, which will add a healthy helping of heat to a fixture already known for its fireworks.
The champions can certainly feel a little aggrieved by the reception, given that this "pursuit" has consisted of a single British-record bid for a player who clearly wants to leave. Despite Isak's increasingly drastic maneuvers, Liverpool has continued to respect Newcastle's firm rejection, declining to come in with a second offer.
On the other hand, Arne Slot did go ahead and add Hugo Ekitike to his attack, at a time when Eddie Howe was also trying to sign him. Newcastle has precious little room to take umbrage, given that it was heavily briefing that the Frenchman was being pursued to play alongside Isak rather than in his stead — but if the 23-year-old had made his way to St James' Park instead of Anfield, there is a sense that a scenario where everybody wins might have been able to play out.
Instead, Howe has conceded that he now finds himself in a "lose-lose" situation when it comes to Isak. Newcastle failed to attract Ekitike and a host of other alternatives, and must now either keep a wantaway star striker or limp through to (at least) January without a suitable replacement.
The former currently looks like the most probable course of action. There is consequently a school of thought that Liverpool has somehow shot itself in the foot by signing Ekitike, in the sense that it may have shut the door on Isak.
But ultimately, only one of them will be involved in today's fixture, and in with a chance of making a mark. And Liverpool has been told exactly why it has no reason to regret its acquisition.
Former Brighton and Watford manager Oscar Garcia worked with Ekitike while at Reims. He has been full of praise for Liverpool's new front man:
"You do not find many strikers like him at that age," Garcia recently told BBC Sport. "He is tall, fast, mobile, very good one against one, holds the ball and scores goals.
"He can fit with teams that play more on the counter-attack, but also with teams with more possession because he has the skill for both styles. Hugo knows which aspects he can improve on, but he also needs help to develop his potential to reach the level that all the people who know him believe he can reach."
Liverpool, of course, did not really need a reminder of Ekitike's qualities. For one thing, he marked his Premier League debut with a goal and an assist.
And quite apart from that, the account that Liverpool somehow signed him out of spite, or as part of a larger Isak transfer powerplay, is total fiction. That is simply not how anyone at the club (or indeed any club) operates.
Ekitike has been on Liverpool's radar for a long time. Indeed, club sources are baffled by the accout that his arrival was in any way a hijacking of Newcastle's planned move.
Pulling him into the Isak narrative ultimately does Ekitike a vast disservice. He is not a pawn in a bigger transfer saga, he is a transfer coup in his own right — and whatever happens with the Swede in what is left of the window, Liverpool's completed forward signing goes down as an excellent bit of business.
Howe knows that as well as anyone. Previewing the game, he admitted that Newcastle would need to be wary of Ekitike's threat:
"There's no doubt I really like Hugo and have done for a number of years," Howe conceded. "He's got really good qualities and he showed that in his first Premier League game.
"He had a really good debut against Bournemouth. He's got really good movement, intelligent, good in the air, scores goals, scores off both feet.
"Our job will be to keep him quiet. He is going to be a threat this year."
It would be fitting if Ekitike could make a decisive mark. The build-up has been dominated by Isak, but there's every chance a different striker is being talked about after the 90 minutes are up.
English (US) ·