Especially as these experts have never made a single mistake in the market.
I’m with @rab on this one. Nothing about this lad to suggest he’s an upgrade on Darwin.
It’s a little from column A, and a little from column B.
Rab has legitimate concerns, and of course should express them especially given this is a discussion board. We’re all good reds here. Say what you think!
Ekitike does not have a large body of work at a high level, but he just had a good season. So, is it an outlier, and he will revert to a lower level… OR is it something of a breakthrough, to show us what he can really do, and what he needs next is a stage on which to shine?
My view is the latter, but obviously we won’t know until we sign him and see what he can do.
I read a statistical analysis on his finishing, I wish I could find the link, but my take away was that when he has decent chances he puts it in the back of the net as good as anyone. His numbers are dragged lower because he takes a fairly high proportion of low percentage shots, and he tends to create those chances for himself.
I’m a hopeful sort, and my take is that he will knock the low percentage stuff on the head in a better side. He can trust his teammates at Liverpool because they are of a very high level. He does not have to do it all for himself.
I think he is going to get that, and I think the lad is going to shine.
Let;s see what happens!
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Well we’ve only got the recruitment of Slot and a chance buy on Chiesa to go on and the latter is a talent it’s just his fitness.
Personally a guy who can adapt like he did at Frankfurt is already one up on Nunez.
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From evidence so far, he has a far better all round game than Nunez
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I do think we would have gone for a striker regardless of what happened to Jota.
There were Murmurs of our interest in Ekitike from the beginning of the transfer window. The transfer team then put the proceedings on hold following the death.
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I do think we need another striker too. Hopefully Danns can be used in cup matches etc and possibly as a substitute this season.
We do have Gakpo who can play as a CF too.
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Think this is being over done, scoring wise he was averaging around 1 in 3 at Reims. 1 in 4 when looking at all his ligue un goals/games. His spell at PSG wasnt great stats wise but it isnt that surprising considering the state of PSG at the time, and how old/ the type of player he is.
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But has it really? I mean, we all knew Nunez had been earmarked to be sold after not kicking on under Slot’s guidance. That would have left Liverpool looking for a new striker regardless of Jota’s tragic fate.
The market is getting more and more inflated every year, though, none more so than strikers’ market. My friends who support clubs from other leagues now make disparaging comments at PL clubs and their spending, saying how the money they spend used to almost guarantee getting a world class player but now it gets you someone like Nunez or Jackson.
I’m afraid that they might be right in that regard, though I have faith that selling Nunez and buying Ekitike will set the team on the path to improve from last season in the sense that he’s, at least according to reports, a much better stylistic fit for this side than Nunez.
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Not wanting to be a ‘Debbie Downer’ here, it does look like others are trying to burst the bubble of our enthusiasm surrounding this young guy. Last thing we would want though, is shit stirring journalists bringing a continuous stream of negativity, or exaggerating stories on/of his life away from football.
Might be an area of concern that needs to be monitored..!
Who is Hugo Ekitike? Liverpool transfer target’s Champagne life and hat-trick vs England
Liverpool are closing in on signing Eintracht Frankfurt’s star striker Hugo Ekitike who lives a Champagne lifestyle with a love of bold fashion and bling, fast cars and banging in goals
Liverpool mean business this summer and Arne Slot is not letting up on his rivals as he looks to hammer home the Reds’ dominance.
Slot wants a striker to further bolster the Premier League champions, with Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike at the top of his shopping list. The Frenchman has made quite the impact over in Germany, as part of an exciting Frankfurt attack that also featured Manchester City star Omar Marmoush until January.
Ekitike, 23, came through the ranks at Stade de Reims, spending time out on loan in Denmark, before asserting himself as a first-team player, scoring 11 goals in 28 appearances for ‘The Red and Whites’.
And as a young French player turning heads in Ligue 1 with his 6ft 3in frame and fancy footwork, it wasn’t long until giants Paris Saint-Germain came sniffing for his signature.
Hugo Ekitike loves to kick back away from the football pitch
He would join the French giants on loan, with an option to buy, in 2022, making 32 appearances and registering four goals and four assists, as PSG clinched the title. The young hotshot would make his move permanent in the summer in a £30m deal, but would only make one more Ligue 1 appearance.
A loan move to Frankfurt beckoned, which has since become permanent, and that’s where the Frenchman has come into his own, notching 26 goals in 64 games, including 22 last season, which made him a transfer target for Manchester United, Newcastle United and Liverpool.
A video uploaded on the Bundesliga’s official YouTube channel describes him as “poetry in motion” and called him “Europe’s most elegant” striker. And it’s those labels that have even earned him comparisons to Arsenal and France icon Thierry Henry.
Hugo Ekitike’s social media is littered with snaps of him enjoying the good life
Hugo Ekitike is clearly fashion forward
“Hugo is a player with extraordinary qualities, he’s exceptional. We have full faith in him,” Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller gushed. While his former Reims coach Óscar García added: "There is something very special about him.
“He’s a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training.”
England know all about that quality too - he netted a hat-trick against Lee Carsley’s Young Lions in an U21s friendly in March, when his three goals in a 5-3 victory included an audacious backheel. In April, he followed that up with a long range strike in the Europa League quarter-finals against Tottenham Hotspur.
Hugo Ekitike showed off his Ferrari on social media
However, on the pitch is only half of Ekitike’s story and he loves to live the Champagne lifestyle away from football.
The Frenchman’s Instagram is littered with flashy snaps from fashion-forward fits to getting behind the wheel of a stunning Ferrari, partying with friends on a yacht and showing off some bold looks, complete with a collection of impressive watches and jewellery.
And yet, Ekitike remains the consummate professional, as there are lots of snaps of his lifestyle but even more of him training - often solo. A recent upload shows a video of him running shooting drills, curling the ball into the far corner.
Reports suggest Ekitike is in advanced talks with Liverpool in a deal worth more than £70m, having agreed personal terms, but Frankfurt seemingly holding out for a fee closer to his £86.5m release clause.
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Well that would put us in the market for two strikers this window if Nunez still goes but I just don’t see that happening.
I reckon there’s a reasonable chance we might have gone into this season with Jota and Diaz as our central options and maybe looked at using Chiesa more or upgrading on him with someone Slot fancies more.
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Looking at the prices for strikers , we should be getting the sort of deals that City got for Alvarez. City bought him in for 14m. That’s what we need to do. Build our own strikers if need be (whether it’s from the youth or cutting the middle clubs.
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I don’t really see much difference between Hugo and Konate’s fashion choices; maybe it’s a French quirk. They both have a penchant for unusual things. The two of them can happily go shopping together. 
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Hughes to underling: “I told you to check his socials!”
Underling: “I was going to, but then I got into watching all these cool skills and highlights videos and I just thought, fuck it, he looks boss”
Hughes: “This is a fucking 80 million deal! You have to check his Insta! I even did that when I hired my secretary!”
Underling: “Did you do it when you hired me?”
Hughes: “Oh shit!”
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Wonder what the likes of Wirtz, Mo and Grav will make of a ‘champagne star’. Hopefully he has no dickheads around him and and he’s just a normal hardworking guy around the team. Got to say have a few concerns but our recruitment team know what they are doing…
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“Independently wealthy man of colour, who drives nice car and wears designer clothes, hangs out with his mates…”
I see the English gutter press are starting on their usual racist narrative before he’s even arrived.
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Watching all the vids, he certainly has a world class knee slide.
I have a feeling he will emulate Salah who was sold by Chelski and Ekitike who was sold by PSG as negligible quantity mainly because of the presence of Messi,Neymar and Mbappé will kick on from his time at Frankfurt .
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Yes all the French players when they turn at the national team quarters after being selected, are all wearing very kwirky attire when they are filmed coming out of their cars .
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That piece does certainly come across as that.
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