Hugo Ekitike could upstage Mohamed Salah and become Liverpool’s main source of goals this season.

That was the view of talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook as he and a panel of experts previewed Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Friday – live on talkSPORT.

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Hugo Ekitike got his Liverpool career off to an lightening start in the Community ShieldCredit: Getty

The £79million summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt showed his prowess in front of goal by netting the Reds’ opener in last Sunday’s Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace.

Double boost for Arne Slot as Liverpool duo return to training ahead of Premier League opener	Liverpool star makes injury return to training ahead of Premier League opener	Joe Gomez returns to Liverpool training ahead of Friday’s Premier League opener

Ekitike was the source of much interest from the Premier League with Liverpool eventually pipping Newcastle to the line for the coveted attacker.

Salah has been Liverpool’s top scorer in each of the last eight seasons but Crook believes this could be the year another star proves more decisive.

The 33-year-old netted a whopping 34 goals in 52 games for the Reds last term dwarfing Ekitike’s total of 22 goals in 48 appearances for Frankfurt.

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Despite the huge discrepancy, Crook believes a mixture of age, Salah’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) exploits and a barren spell at the end of last season when he netted just twice in ten games, could see Salah’s goal return begin to wane.

“They (Liverpool) will be aware that Mo Salah will do well to hit the numbers that he hit last season," Crook told talkSPORT.

“He’s a year older, he didn’t finish last season brilliantly.

“You’ve got AFCON as well midway through the season, so they’re going to lose him for a period of time.

I think Ekitike might outscore Salah this season.”

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There is still the possibility that neither player will hold the mantle of being Liverpool’s top scorer this season.

The Reds continue to hold hope that they can push through the transfer of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

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Mo Salah scooped last season's Premier League Golden Boot awardCredit: Getty

Liverpool saw a £110million bid turned down for the Swede and whilst negotiations remain at a standstill, Isak remains the Reds’ top priority.

On the eve of Newcastle’s opening match of the season at Aston Villa, Isak is still training away from his teammates as he bids to force through a move to Anfield.

Newcastle value Isak at £150m, a figure Liverpool are reluctant to meet but remain attentive to the tense developments between Isak and his club.

“The situation is quite tense between Newcastle and Alexander Isak,” said talkSPORT’s transfer reporter Ben Jacobs.

“And from Liverpool's perspective, they're very much just watching it play out from afar.

At the moment, there's been a relative radio silence between Liverpool and Newcastle.

“Liverpool haven't walked away - Isak is their top priority.

They're all in on him, if it's possible, between now and the end of the window.

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Alexander Isak's future remains in the balance with Liverpool ready to pounceCredit: Getty

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Arne Slot has revealed his intention of adding one more attacker to his squadCredit: AFP

“But they also don't want to formally bid again since seeing an offer of £110m rejected, unless they're given encouragement."

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has signalled his intention to bring in another attacker before the end of the transfer window.

The Premier League champions offloaded Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz this summer while counting the cost of the tragic death of Diogo Jota last month.

Despite the arrival of Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, Slot still believes his side are one attacking player short going into the new season.

“I see Hugo mainly as a number nine that could also play from the left or play together with another number nine,” Slot said on Friday.

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“It’s clear that with Darwin gone and Luis Diaz gone, and even last season, we had five or six options.
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