Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cissé says he has been pleasantly surprised by Hugo Ekitike’s flying start to his Anfield career and believes his French compatriot can ease the attacking burden shouldered by Mohamed Salah.
The 23-year-old France international has made a seamless transition from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, scoring five goals in 10 appearances since joining Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth up to £79m this summer.
The striker’s sole misstep came when he removed his shirt to celebrate the winner in a 2-1 League Cup victory over Southampton last month, earning a second yellow card that meant he was suspended for the Premier League champions’ subsequent defeat at Crystal Palace.
Cissé, who joined Liverpool from Auxerre in 2004, understands better than most the pressures that accompany a high-profile move to Anfield, and has been impressed by the speed with which his countryman has come to terms with life at his new club.
Djibril Cissé: ‘I was scared Hugo Ekitike wasn’t gong to play much’
“He can score goals,” Cissé told Get Football France News. “He showed it in Germany, and he’s shown it at Liverpool when he arrived.
“I was a little scared that he wasn’t going to play much, but I was wrong. He’s playing, he’s doing good, he’s scoring goals. He’s bringing different options to Mo Salah and Alexander Isak. He’s a really good player. I know him from France. I knew he had the quality to perform, but to be honest, I wasn’t expecting him to be that good, that quick.”
Ekitike hit the ground running in his debut appearance for Liverpool in the Community Shield, scoring against Crystal Palace at Wembley after just four minutes. He immediately followed up with league goals against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, in the process becoming only the second player in half a century to score in each of his first three outings for the club.
‘It’s going to be difficult for Slot to choose between Ekitike and Isak’
The Frenchman’s fast start has already endeared him to the Anfield faithful and presented his manager, Arne Slot, with a selection dilemma following the £125m acquisition of fellow striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle. Ekitike’s assimilation into the team has been helped by the protracted and controversial nature of Isak’s transfer, which meant the Sweden international did not complete a proper pre-season and has been used sparingly so far.
Many have questioned whether Ekitike and Isak can both be accommodated in Liverpool’s first XI. But Cissé, who scored 26 goals in 82 appearances for the club, including a penalty in the club’s 2005 Champions League final shootout against AC Milan, is confident his countryman can continue to play a key role, particularly with Salah set to report for international duty with Egypt when the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway on 21 December.
“I think if Ekitike stays at this level and continues to score goals when he has the chance to play, then it’s going to be difficult for the manager to choose, but that’s football, that’s the beauty of football,” said the 44-year-old, who is currently working as Auxerre’s offensive coach.
“The season is long, but as long as Liverpool have a striking force that scores goals and wins games, Salah can have a down period, so Ekitike can help. You need all your strikers at the top for the entire season, and it’s a good thing to have strikers who score goals.”
