‘I made my choice’ – Hugo Ekitike sends pointed dig as he doubles down on transfer decision | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitike has insisted that he made the right choice by opting to sign for Liverpool last summer.

The Frenchman has been an instant success at Anfield, taking his goal tally for the season to 13 so far after netting in the 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag on Wednesday night and already repaying a sizeable portion of the initial £69m that the Reds paid for him six months ago (The Independent).

Newcastle had offered £70m for the then-Eintracht Frankfurt striker, but that was without any add-ons, and the player’s preference was for a move to Merseyside rather than St James’ Park (The Independent).

Ekitike doubles down on decision to join Liverpool

After last night’s romp over Qarabag, Ekitike stopped to talk to reporters in the mixed zone at Anfield (via Empire of the Kop), and he was asked if he’d been close to signing for Eddie Howe’s side instead.

The 23-year-old replied: “We were close but I made my choice already. I knew where I wanted to come, and I’m where I wanted to come.”

It was then put to the Liverpool striker that he ‘might get a bit of stick’ from Newcastle fans on Saturday night when we host the Magpies in L4, but he coolly shot back: “I don’t care – I play for Liverpool. I have my fans here. We played there already and we won [3-2 last August].”

Ekitike a rare constant positive for Liverpool this season

Kopites haven’t had a whole lot to cheer during a difficult season, but Ekitike’s form has been a resounding plus over the past few months, and recent games have seen him forge a deadly and increasingly intuitive understanding with fellow summer signing Florian Wirtz.

There was a school of thought from some quarters last summer that the Frenchman might be left playing second fiddle to Alexander Isak unless Arne Slot found a way to incorporate both of them into the same line-up, but a long-term injury to the Swede has put that discussion on hold for the time being.

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Coincidentally, Liverpool’s number 9 was the subject of a protracted and at times toxic £125m transfer from Newcastle a few months ago, with many Geordies scorned by the Reds’ initial offer for the forward and creating a febrile atmosphere when the teams met at St James’ Park at the start of the season.

There may be a distinct sense of schadenfreude from Tyneside about Isak’s injury woe, but Saturday’s match will serve as a reminder to Magpies supporters of what they could’ve had if Ekitike had joined them rather than the Reds.

Considering the ‘sliding doors’ plot twists that football so often likes to produce, what odds on the French striker netting the decisive goal against Howe’s side at the weekend and endearing himself even further to a Merseyside support who already adore him!

You can watch Slot’s full post-Qarabag press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: