How Liverpool could line up with Alexander Isak – and what happens to Hugo Ekitike? | OneFootball

Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Newcastle striker Alexander Isak in a £125m move, with the club finally getting their top target in a summer window that has seen them spend over £400m.

Despite winning the league at a canter last season, Liverpool quickly identified a recognised number nine as their main summer target, with Darwin Nunez failing last term before his move to Al-Hilal.

And the Reds are now set to pull off a Premier League record deal for their primary target, with the Sweden striker set to sign a six-year deal at Anfield to complete a frightening attacking line-up that also includes current PFA Player of the Year Mo Salah alongside £69m signing Hugo Ekitike.

But while the arrival of Isak will excite Liverpool fans, it does bring up questions over the signing of Ekitike, who plays in the same centre forward position as the Sweden striker but will surely be moved to accommodate him.

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Isak scored in Newcastle's Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool in March (Getty Images)

Given his exploits last season and his emergence as one of the world’s top strikers – as well as the enormous fee they’re paying for him – it is almost certain that Isak will line up in the No 9 position for Liverpool most weeks, though there is potential that he could line up as one of two strikers along Ekitike.

If Arne Slot were to use a more traditional 4-4-2, then both Isak and Ekitike could play alongside each other, with Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo taking the more traditional wing roles.

However, Slot has shown no indication he would play that formation, with most top sides now preferring some version of a 4-3-3 or the 4-2-3-1 that Slot used to great affect last season.

In any case, very few sides deploy two strikers alongside each other nowadays, especially as Premier League football has become more transitional and end-to-end, as the importance of extra bodies in midfield continues to grow. On the assumption that the Dutchman will not deviate from his favoured formation, the most likely thing to happen would be that Isak lines up as a centre forward with either Ekitike or Cody Gakpo on the left.

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Cody Gakpo could well emerge as Hugo Ekitike's main competition for a place in the starting 11 (Getty Images)

Ekitike has played a total of just nine games on the left, though he often drifts out onto the left before driving inside, as he did to great affect against Tottenham in the Europa League last season.

While he is not as much of an out-and-out winger as Gakpo or Luis Diaz, his style of driving inside is very similar to what Gakpo offers, and it could be something that Slot picked up on before signing the Frenchman.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the Reds have now spent around £200m on two No 9s this summer, and while a long season will likely require resting one or the other at various points, it would be assumed that neither one was signed for a role as a squad player.

So, if he doesn’t pick up a position on the wing, could Ekitike feature as a second striker? He did so several times for Frankfurt, notably alongside Omar Marmoush before the latter’s move to Manchester City.

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Ekitike and Marmoush formed a strong partnership as dual-strikers for Frankfurt before their respective moves (Getty Images)

The problem here remains the other players in the team, with Mo Salah virtually undroppable and Florian Wirtz also unlikely to warm the bench after a £116m move.

Tactically, Liverpool could line up in the aforementioned 4-4-2 or a similar variation, but neither formation would provide the same balance that Slot has so far curated at Anfield, and with some defensive questions already this season, he is also unlikely to move to a three- or five-at-the-back line-up either.

However, with Liverpool facing 60 matches this season if they progress into the latter stages of various cup competitions, the fact remains that Ekitike will likely see plenty of minutes in his debut season in England.

Isak himself is yet to play in a 50-plus-game season, and with the 25-year-old having missed 39 matches for club and country due to injury since the 2022/23 season, Ekitike could find himself playing in his favoured position more than originally thought.

In fact, with the likelihood that Slot changes things game to game according to opponent, the 23-year-old will likely see himself playing in several positions across the forward line – and perhaps even deeper – as Liverpool look to challenge on all four fronts in 2025/26.