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Arne Slot, head coach and Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool during a pre-season training session at Kai Tak Stadium on July 24, 2025(Image: Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The emergence of Hugo Ekitike at the Kai Tak Stadium on Thursday evening was enough for Arne Slot to sneak in an opportunistic jibe at the new striker's fellow Frenchman Ibrahima Konate.

Ektike, whose £79m move from Eintracht Frankfurt has seen him immediately fly out to the Far East to join his new club, was brought on to the pitch after the session to much fanfare at an event that was attended by 25,000 supporters.

And Slot simply couldn't resist a playful jab at Konate and his less-than-prolific goal return, saying: "So we're hoping he (Ekitike) is the first Frenchman who can score goals for us!" Cue much laughter from Konate's colleagues as Slot sported a huge grin and a knowing look at his defender.

In Konate's defence, the centre-half is employed to stop goals more than he is to register them but the gentle wisecrack from Slot was a brief glimpse into the high standards he sets, with the joke taken in good spirits by all concerned on the day.

Despite Ekitike's surprise emergence, however, it was the no-show of another centre-forward in Alexander Isak that set tongues really wagging around the ground itself on the day.

The Newcastle United striker has not travelled with the Magpies on their trip to Singapore, with a thigh injury said to have been the issue behind the failure to travel.

However, by the time Liverpool's training session had ended in Hong Kong, it was being widely reported that Isak was now making it known that he wants to leave St James' Park in search of another club.

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Having been informed recently that Newcastle had no plans to sell their star striker, Liverpool had appeared to quickly move from the Sweden international and Ekitike's capture looked to have closed the door on a deal for Isak.

How much the player's agitation for a move away from Newcastle changes Liverpool's thinking is now unclear, but having made it known they would be willing to break the British transfer record for the 25-year-old earlier this month, the chatter around the Kai Tak from the media in attendance was just how much appetite there is at Anfield to now test the resolve in the north east once more.

Liverpool had looked at bringing Isak to Merseyside three years ago before he joined the Magpies from Real Sociedad in a transfer worth around £63m but Darwin Nunez was eventually chosen instead, with Jurgen Klopp in particular understood to have been hugely impressed with the Uruguay international during his time at Benfica.

Three years on, the prospect of moving on Nunez to help facilitate a blockbuster move for Isak is now possible.

A deal for Isak would take Liverpool's summer spending - currently just shy of £300m - soaring way past the £400m mark, which would be a remarkable amount for a club who are often portrayed as conservative and risk-averse when it comes to transfer spend.

It will be fascinating to see what happens next as the key decision makers at Anfield weigh up contacting Newcastle once more.

Away from transfer speculation, it was a valuable workout for Slot's players, who played a training game during a session that lasted around 90 minutes at the Kai Tak.

And one element of the pre-season tours in recent years that hasn't made a return in 2025 is the concept of 'tour time', which was introduced as a way of reducing jet lag under the previous regime of Jurgen Klopp.

Hong Kong is seven hours ahead of the UK, so the Reds squad, in previous years, would have been made to set their watches only three hours ahead, leading to the players sometimes having certain meals at unusual times of the day.

It was something that wasn't always universally popular with the squad.

Tour time, however, has now been cancelled by Slot and his staff, with Liverpool’s schedule in Hong Kong on their current tour set to local time.

The decision is believed to have gone down well with the players as they adjust to both the timezone difference and the arduous training sessions in searing Far East temperatures.

Speaking after Thursday's session, Virgil van Dijk said: "To be absolutely honest, I think that's more important [than a full pre-season] is the break I got.
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