Liverpool: Huge Ekitike makes Alexander Isak look like a waste of money

By Sam McGuire

Football

Mon December 15, 2025 · 3d ago

Liverpool shattered their transfer record on two occasions during the summer window.

Florian Wirtz arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth an initial £100million. The Reds had to wait until deadline day to bring their long pursuit of Alexander Isak to an end, with the Sweden international moving from Newcastle United for £125million, a British transfer record.

These two were supposed to be the face of a new-look Liverpool attack. Though Mohamed Salah had penned a new two-year deal, the feeling was this summer splurge was supposed to future-proof the attack, allowing Arne Slot to move away from being heavily reliant on the No11.

Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak

Wirtz was supposed to be the main man in attack. Isak was set to be the main goalscorer for the team.

After securing their No9, the club’s decision to spend £69million on Hugo Ekitike was questioned. The Reds needed depth in attack after selling Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. There was also the tragic loss of Diogo Jota to consider. Liverpool needed at least two new forwards, but did they need to spend close to £200million on the pair?

That was the point of contention. Pundits queried the signing of the Frenchman, wondering if he knew the club’s plan was to bring in Isak. After all, the former Eintracht Frankfurt man turned down a move to Newcastle United. He reportedly rejected the advances of Manchester United and Chelsea too.

There would’ve been competition for places at all of those sides but none of them had a new £125million striker arriving at the same time. And with Slot looking to play Isak into form and fitness, Ekitike was dropped from the starting XI, despite his good start to life on Merseyside.

It left some wondering whether the fee spent on the No22 would’ve been better spent on Antoine Semenyo or another versatile attacking option.

Now, though, the question has been altered.

People are no longer contemplating whether the £69million was spent recklessly. Now, the question is whether or not the £125million on Isak was a waste of money.

Ekitike netted his second successive Premier League double on Saturday, proving to be the match-winner for the Reds in the 2-0 win over Brighton. He’s now on seven for the season in the English top-flight and 10 for the season across all competitions.

He’s the first Liverpool player to reach 10 goals before Salah in any season since 2019/20.

His showing against Brighton was even more impressive when you consider the shift the France international had put in against Inter at San Siro in mid-week.

The 23-year-old covered 11.6km during the game, only five players across both teams covered more ground and all of them were midfielders. It puts into context just how much graft Ekitike put into that match.

It was one of the reasons he was substituted against Brighton while on a hat-trick, as explained by Slot in his post-match press conference.

"Just before I took him off, there was a moment where he could hardly walk any more because of cramp," Slot said.

"So what I see with him and all the players we brought had to adapt to the Premier League because they are all young, maybe except for Alex (Isak) because of intensity, some of them had to adapt to Premier League and the Champions League. And I see all of them making progress in that, so Hugo had cramp today but I can assure you he did twice as much at the beginning of the season when I had to take him off with cramp as well and that is what this league brings as well.

"If you cannot be so intense for such a long time then it is so hard to win a game of football. The best athletes play in this league. We are trying to prepare them more and more and I can see progress for all our signings."

Ekitike was, once again, leading the line on his own against the Seagulls at Anfield. Isak picked up yet another knock against Inter and was only deemed fit enough for a place on the bench.

The No9 has already missed seven games for the Reds because of various knocks and issues following his move from St James’ Park. He’s scored just one Premier League goal and his tally for the season across all competitions stands at two. The Reds aren’t necessarily playing a system to get the best out of the one-time BVB man but, unlike Ekitike, he struggles to impose himself on the game when he’s not finishing off moves.

For example, against Brighton, Ekitike had seven shots, Isak has managed just 14 all season in the Premier League. The No22 attempted three dribbles, had 49 touches and involved himself in eight duels.

In Isak’s last Premier League start, at home against Sunderland, he managed three shots, attempted one dribble and had just 14 touches before he was replaced after 86 minutes. The big difference seems to be that when the system doesn’t necessarily suit him, Ekitike still finds a way to shoehorn himself into the game. That feels like a trait Liverpool forwards over recent years have had.

Despite having to adapt to the rigours of a new league and a new team, all while coming in and out of the starting XI, Ekitike is managing to make people question Liverpool’s decision to break the British transfer record to sign Isak. That, alone, is an achievement.

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