1 week ago
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Arne Slot has been urged to reintroduce Hugo Ekitike into Liverpool's starting XI, replacing the club's record British signing, Alexander Isak.
The Swedish forward was acquired from Newcastle for a staggering £125 million ($167M) in early September, but has only found the back of the net once in seven outings across all competitions.
The 26-year-old could only manage a single shot on target on Sunday as Liverpool succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Anfield against Manchester United in the Premier League. This marked the Reds' fourth consecutive loss despite an encouraging start to their season where Ekitike proved his worth, scoring five goals in total.
Former United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes that Liverpool boss Slot faces some challenging decisions in the upcoming weeks, including whether to bring Ekitike back into his starting line-up in place of Isak.
On his Fozcast podcast, the ex-England and Wrexham shot-stopper expressed, "I'm surprised by Liverpool, because it's been a little bit clunky, whereas you look at last season and everything was free flowing.
"Even earlier in the season with Ekitike up there, it looked a lot easier on the eye, whereas now it just looks like Isak didn't even get a kick. He didn't ever look like he was going to score. That's the bit for me where I think they might have to start making some really difficult choices in the next few weeks."
Ekitike, who arrived at Anfield in July from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth up to £79M ($105.5M), is preparing to take on his former side in Wednesday's Champions League clash. The French forward, who scored 26 times in 64 outings for the German club, was left on the substitutes' bench against United as Isak was preferred.
Yet Isak struggled to make an impact, firing directly at goalkeeper Senne Lammens when presented with his sole chance.
Ex-Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has also suggested that Ekitike deserves to start ahead of Isak, regardless of the substantial sum paid for the latter. Rooney put Isak's sluggish beginning at Anfield down to missing out on pre-season work following his drawn-out and controversial departure from Newcastle.
Speaking on his BBC podcast, Rooney said, "I wouldn't play Isak, he hasn't looked ready since coming from Newcastle. He hasn't trained, hasn't had a pre-season. It's so important.
"While Newcastle were training he was probably sat at home on the phone to his agent for six hours a day trying to get a move.
"It's so difficult when you don't have a pre-season. He might've done stuff by himself but he's paying the price of it. On performances, he doesn't deserve to be playing ahead of Ekitike."
The ultimate decision on whether Ekitike is selected to start lies with Slot, as he aims to arrest Liverpool's recent downturn. Despite Isak's high-profile transfer from Newcastle dominating the summer headlines, Ekitike's standout performances thus far present a strong argument for him to be the first choice.
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