Arne Slot drops major hint over Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike roles at Liverpool
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Arne Slot has once again dropped hints about his plans to utilize both Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike this season, after strengthening Liverpool's attacking line-up this summer.
The Reds shattered the British transfer record by signing the Swedish player from Newcastle United on the final day of the transfer window, following an extended summer saga.
Earlier in the summer, Liverpool had already secured the signing of Ekitike, beating out competition from the likes of Newcastle to land the Frenchman from Eintracht Frankfurt.
In fact, he became the first player to score in each of his first three games for the club since Daniel Sturridge achieved the same feat in 2023.
However, Ekitike is still acclimatizing to Premier League football and has yet to play a full 90 minutes since joining the club
He was benched for the first time during the midweek victory over Atletico Madrid as Slot gave Isak his Liverpool debut.
Following the win over Atletico, Slot confirmed that Isak would definitely not play the full 90 minutes against the Blues, with the Reds still carefully managing Isak after a disrupted pre-season which saw him essentially go on strike at Newcastle.
Furthermore, after his team's victory over Burnley last weekend, he conceded that the striker would not be able to play more than 45 minutes against both the La Liga team and Everton.
"He will be able to play 45 on Wednesday as a minimum or a little bit more," he said
"But if he plays 45 on Wednesday, don't expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday as his body is not prepared for that."
Therefore, Ekitike is anticipated to spearhead the attack against Everton in Saturday's Merseyside derby
Whilst there have been suggestions he could deploy either striker out wide to accommodate them both in his starting XI, the Dutchman has acknowledged he predominantly views them both as centre-forwards.
"Everything is always possible, so they can (play as wingers), but I think for Alex number nine is by far his best position," he said.
"Hugo has played in the past, when he was younger, as a winger as well, but then he started to grow more and more and more – although Cody Gakpo shows that even if you are really tall you can still be a very good, intelligent winger.
"So Hugo could be a player who could play off the left side, not in the way Cody or Mo is playing, but he could become a second striker.
"But in general I think both of them are more number nines than any other position."