Steven Gerrard pays Hugo Ekitike ultimate compliment with Liverpool comparison

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard made a big comparison after watching French forward Hugo Ekitike score twice against Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has made his feelings clear on Hugo Ekitike(Image: Kate McShane/Getty Images)

Steven Gerrard is a BIG fan of Hugo Ekitike. And speaking about the Frenchman's second goal against Newcastle on Saturday, he made a sizeable comparison.

Ekitike, who was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer for a fee that could reach $106 million (£79 million), has now scored 15 goals in all competitions this season. His brace against Newcastle saw the game turned around, with Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate also getting in on the act in the second half.

"It is all about Hugo Ekitike running the channel. It is (Fernando) Torres-like," Gerrard said. "He gets out of his feet and that toe-poke. He reminds me of Torres every time I watch him."

Wirtz and Ekitike have linked up brilliantly in recent games, drawing comparisons to Gerrard and Torres.

"I don’t think it comes to a surprise to anyone [that they are getting better] — definitely not to me," Arne Slot said. "The more players play together, the more they can find an understanding.

"I’ve tried to explain why it was difficult for them to play earlier in the season every three days again, and now they are able to do that, because they can keep going.

Hugo Ekitike scored a brace for Liverpool against Newcastle(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

"They can play more often together, we can play more often with the same team or same combinations and, as last season has shown, the more you can play together, the better it is.

"And I’ve always said that I would love to play, not love, but I prefer to play as much as I can with the same 11. But for obvious reasons, that wasn’t always possible.

"Now it’s more and more possible and then you can also see that connections are getting better and better — not only with these two but also with other players."

Slot was also asked about how Ekitike is away from the pitch, where he appears to be settling nicely into life on Merseyside.

"Funny, happy, always brings a nice energy to the training ground, but also to the stadium because the fans love him as well," Slot continued.

"From the start, I think everybody could see how special he is, how fast he is. That was probably seen the best in the second goal he scored; he took a one-v-one on, went on the outside, which is very, very difficult in modern football to beat someone around because usually players go to the inside and have a shot with the right. But there you can see his pace.

"Again, I would love to mention the fact that probably didn’t even improve that much on the ball because he was special from the start, but his biggest improvement is his work rate off the ball and that is so helpful and necessary for any team, let alone for a team that wants to press throughout 95 minutes."