Echo

Hugo Ekitike agreement reached as Liverpool 'crisis' claim confirmed

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Arne Slot has been told he should start playing Hugo Ekitike as Liverpool's first-choice striker ahead of Alexander IsakArne Slot has been told to put his faith in Hugo Ekitike as Liverpool's first-choice striker as Alexander Isak struggles for fitness since his £125million move. Isak has found life difficult since arriving from Newcastle United on deadline day at the start of last month having missed a proper pre-season of training.By contrast, Ekitike has hit the ground running by netting six goals in 13 appearances having joined for £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the summer.Isak is likely to be absent from Wednesday's League Cup fourth round clash against Crystal Palace with the groin problem that forced him off during last week's Champions League win in Frankfurt and out of Saturday's dismal 3-2 Premier League reverse at Brentford.READ MORE: Liverpool surprise transfer responds to prospect of unexpected debut - 'I had other options'READ MORE: Liverpool have two teenage strikers who can't stop scoring as message sentAnd even when the Sweden international is back available, former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes Ekitike should be the man in possession up front."He was going to be annoyed that he was sitting on the bench, because when he came I think he was the one who hit the ground running, who looked exciting," said Heskey."He’s scored goals, he’s created chances, he’s been a pest, and that’s what most forwards should be.



Forwards should be a pest to their defenders, and he’s been that."He’s been left on the bench. Speaking to football betting site BetVictor, Saha said: "Arne Slot has to bring his big signings to top form in some way because Hugo Ekitike is a big talent, what he's doing is great.“He's showing character.

So he has to keep his head up, keep working hard, and at some point, he will be rewarded. There is no doubt that with his character, his mentality, positivity, and all that, his quality will definitely shine.“This is the type of thing I really like about this player because you can see that he's always playing flair football, attacking and passing when a better pass for another player is on.“He's picking these passes, and at some point, he will be rewarded as he started really well on his journey in the Premier League, which is not easy, especially going to a team that has been champions.”Liverpool have now lost five of their last six games and four Premier League games in a row, matching the entire total for their title-winning campaign last season.And asked if there was a crisis at Liverpool, Heskey added: "We don’t like to use that word, but what other word can you use?"We’ve never seen anything like this at Liverpool for a long time.