Opinion: Liverpool struck the jackpot with one summer signing in particular

Liverpool went on quite the shopping spree last summer, spending almost £450m on new signings as Arne Slot radically overhauled his squad.

The jury remains out on a few of those who’ve come in at Anfield – most notably club-record acquisition Alexander Isak – but they’ve certainly gotten it right with one of the new buys in particular.

With incoming transfers in football, you can either hit the jackpot like the winner of casino games, or you can be left licking your wounds at throwing good money after bad if the purchase doesn’t work out.

In Hugo Ekitike’s case, it’s very much been the former for Liverpool.

Ekitike has thrived at Liverpool so far

Ordinarily, spending £69m on a new striker would be a standout transfer, and the fee for the Frenchman could rise to £79m if all add-ons are triggered (The Independent). However, that coup went comparatively under the radar amid the £100m+ additions of Florian Wirtz and Isak.

While the Swede has netted just twice so far for the Reds, and the German is still waiting for his first LFC goal (though his general performances have been superb), the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt marksman has been Slot’s most prolific player this season.

Ekitike had actually gone eight Premier League matches without scoring during the autumn, but he’s hit four in the past fortnight to take him to 10 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, twice as many as the next-most prolific player at Anfield in the current campaign.

Without the Frenchman’s goals, the defending champions would be seven points worse off in the top flight, which’d currently leave then languishing in 15th place.

It’s not just Ekitike’s goalscoring which has stood out

It isn’t just the 23-year-old’s penalty box potency which has made him stand out, either. His clever movement off the ball hints at his intelligence on the pitch, and similar to Bobby Firmino, he excels at link-up play and bringing his teammates into the game.

With Isak failing to fire thus far and Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations for the next few weeks, Liverpool will lean even more heavily on Ekitike to continue his rich vein of goalscoring form off the back of his braces against Leeds and Brighton.

Ideally he’d spread out his supply of goals more evenly, having started excellently at Anfield but then dipped for a few weeks before rediscovering his potent touch in December.

All in all, though, the France international has repaid a handsome chunk of his transfer fee, and from what we’ve seen so far, he could well go on to be regarded as a bargain even at the price that he cost.

Liverpool have copped some flak over their marketplace activity last summer, but they certainly got it right by snapping up Ekitike.

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