Hugo Ekitike admits he’s changed his perception about one teammate since joining Liverpool | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitike has said that his perception of one Liverpool teammate has changed since coming to Anfield in the summer.

The Frenchman joined the Reds from Eintracht Frankfurt in July for an initial £69m (The Athletic) and has enjoyed a strong start to his time on Merseyside, with five goals in his first nine matches for LFC (although the latest of those preceded a bizarre sending-off against Southampton).

It makes him the top scorer for Arne Slot’s side in the early weeks of the season, a mantle which in recent years has almost always been held by Mo Salah, who’s been the subject of some insightful comments from the 23-year-old summer arrival.

Ekitike opens up about Salah off the pitch

Speaking to Kelly Somers for The Football Interview (via BBC Sport), Ekitike was asked what it’s like to play alongside the Egyptian King.

He replied: “Really good. Mo is a really cool guy. He is really open with me and is really good to talk too. He is great to play with.

“I was watching him on TV when he was scoring the goals and stuff but he is a really great athlete. You can just improve yourself and learn from him. It is good to share the pitch with him and I hope we are going to score lots of goals and bring some wins to the team together.”

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Ekitike also admitted that his perception of Salah as a person off the pitch has changed since coming to Liverpool, outlining: “He is very cool. More cool than what I have seen on TV because sometimes you see straight face and stuff so I thought he was cold… someone who doesn’t talk a lot.

“He is really open, like all of the guys here. They are really open and want me to adapt to the team.”

Ekitike has a world-class role model alongside him in Salah

Salah is renowned for steering clear of post-match media interactions as much as possible, hence the surprise last season whenever he stopped to talk to reporters in the mixed zone amid the uncertainty over his contract situation before it was finally resolved in April.

Perhaps that is what fuelled Ekitike’s initial belief of the Egyptian as a distant, aloof figure away from the pitch, but it seems clear that the 23-year-old’s perception has changed since coming to Anfield.

Although Liverpool’s number 11 mightn’t have been as prolific as usual in the early weeks of the current campaign, history suggests that he’ll break the 20-goal barrier yet again. His absence for the Africa Cup of Nations will make that harder, but it’d be foolish to back against him doing so.

Salah is a global superstar who, unlike some other footballers of equal on-field stature, isn’t a person who openly seeks the limelight. The only headlines he’s interested in making relate to what he does on matchday for the Reds.

Even if he and Ekitike only get to be teammates for a couple of years (the Egyptian’s contract expires in 2027, when he’ll be 35), our summer arrival can learn so much from one of the greatest goalscorers this club has ever had.