Gary Lineker warns Liverpool could face same Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe dilemma
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Gary Lineker has drawn parallels between Liverpool's center-forward conundrum and the Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe situation at Real Madrid last season.
Liverpool secured the services of Hugo Ekitike, 23 from Eintracht Frankfurt in July before shattering the Premier League transfer record for the second time - after snapping up Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen - as Isak made the switch from Newcastle United for a staggering $169 million on deadline day.
Isak was immediately thrust into the starting XI for his debut against Atletico Madrid last Wednesday, before Ekitike reclaimed his spot in the starting line-up for Saturday's 2-1 victory over Everton.
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Ekitike managed to net his third goal in six outings for the Reds, deftly sliding the ball past Jordan Pickford to extend his side's lead to two-nil after Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring.
It was a splendid finish from the Frenchman, who put in an outstanding all-round performance and gave the Everton defence a torrid time during his stint on the pitch.
However, there will come a point when Arne Slot contemplates fielding Ekitike and Isak together in the same team, having splashed out more than $270 million to secure both their signatures in the summer.
Indeed, Lineker has likened Liverpool's striker quandary to that of Real Madrid, who faced the predicament of Vinicius and Mbappe both vying for the left-hand side position last season.
On The Rest Is Football, Lineker pondered: "I wonder what Isak's thinking, sitting on the bench.
He'll want to play that role.
Ekitike could play on the left, and Isak, we know, can play on the left, and I think they might do that.
"But then, they might have that slight situation of Real Madrid, where they had Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both wanting to play on the left, but in the end Mbappe was the one who converted to a nine.
Liverpool duo Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike
He went back to what worked so well for them with that three in midfield, and left Wirtz out