Liverpool told it has a player as good as Fernando Torres with exciting 'similarities' clear

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Liverpool legend John Aldridge says one of the current team reminds him of Fernando Torres, and Jamie Carragher has made a similarly big claim in the recent past

Fernando Torres celebrates scoring for Liverpool Legends at Anfield in March 2024.(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Liverpool legend John Aldridge has become the latest ex-pro to compare Hugo Ekitike to Fernando Torres amid an impressive first campaign at Anfield for the Frenchman.

Ekitike was signed for a fee that could reach $106 million (£79 million) from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer. He has since scored 16 goals in 40 games for Liverpool, quickly becoming a key man under Arne Slot.

In recent weeks, Ekitike has not been quite as effective, but he has played a huge amount of minutes in the absence of Alexander Isak. The Swede was spotted running on the grass at the AXA Training Centre as his recovery continues.

"Could Hugo Ekitike surpass Fernando Torres? As long as he doesn't go to Chelsea!" Aldridge told Boyle Sports. "Fernando was absolutely amazing. He was slightly older when he came in but you can see similarities.

"That goal [against Newcastle], when he went through and stabbed it in like Fernando did. There are a lot of similarities between the two, the way they played, the way they moved, in fact.

"If Jamie Carragher thinks so, I'm not going to disagree with him, we're good mates. But he has certainly got the ability to be as good as Fernando anyway."

Hugo Ekitike celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal during the Premier League match with Newcastle United at Anfield on January 31, 2026(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Carragher was the first to make the comparison between Ekitike and his old Anfield teammate, Torres.

"I actually think Hugo Ekitike‘s a better player than Torres," Carragher explained on a Monday Night Football in February, having played alongside the Spaniard on 129 occasions.

"I’m not sure he’ll get as many goals as Torres did over a couple of years. But what Fernando Torres had, he had Steven Gerrard.

"I think Fernando Torres, certainly in a Liverpool shirt, was made by Steven Gerrard.

"Now I don’t think Hugo Ekitike would rely as much on Florian Wirtz, but if that combination keeps going, then that’s when you could maybe get the goals that Fernando Torres got."

Liverpool.com says: Ekitike has been very good for most of this season. Had Isak been fit and firing all year, it would have been very interesting to see how differently things could have panned out.

Ekitike could have played a bit on the left to give Cody Gakpo a rest. That could be something to come back to next season.