How Hugo Ekitike looks to Erling Haaland in mission to join attacking elite | OneFootball

For a footballer who was on loan at Vejle Boldklub as recently as 2021, Hugo Ekitike is accustomed to spending time with the world’s elite attackers. He will share a pitch with Erling Haaland on Sunday. He has shared a dressing room with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Ousmane Dembele, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak.

It has served as an elite education, but Ekitike is still looking and learning. Even as Liverpool seek to overcome Manchester City, Haaland can provide an example for him. Ekitike has started well at Anfield but he has scored six goals for Liverpool. Haaland has 18 for City alone this season, 27 for club and country.

“He’s on the list of best strikers in the world now for a few years, and definitely someone I’m looking at,” said the Frenchman. “I think if I can add a little bit in my game it would be from his game. He’s able to do things without touching the ball much during the game, and it’s really impressive. So he’s definitely someone I’m looking at.”

There is an essential humility to Ekitike. He was flattered that Thierry Henry described him as the signing of the summer in the Premier League, but there was a self-deprecating caveat. Henry was manager of France’s Under-21 team but they did not work together. “No, no, no, he didn’t pick me,” he smiled. Nor did he get carried away with the praise. “He is an idol for us French players,” said a striker who shares certain similarities. “But I don’t want to be an exciting signing. I want to be a good player who has had a great season.”

He has made a start, aided by his lessons from the superstar front trio who kept him out of the PSG team. “I really watched them a lot during my time in PSG,” he said. “I’m still watching them. I try to take things from the players I love. I like to watch and try to add to my game to make me more complete.”

With Messi, it was “his vision. Sometimes I try to see things earlier, before I receive the ball. With Neymar, it was probably about some tricks, like some skill and control. I took the runs of Kylian, he could do great runs without the ball.”

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Hugo Ekitike was aided by lessons from the superstar front trio that kept him out of the PSG team (Getty)

Yet, swift as Ekitike is, his own sprints are slightly slower. “He is quicker than me. I am fast, but he is one of the fastest in the world,” he said. “I hope one day I get there but we are a different type of player. He has a lot, a lot of speed, I am more like a player who is able to do things for the team.”

His fondness for Mbappe owes something to his speed of thought, something to his presence of mind. Two years ago, he was marginalised at PSG, excluded by Luis Enrique from the Champions League squad. Mbappe proved an ally. “He saw me in a bad position at PSG so he is happy for me that now things are working out,” said Ekitike. “It was difficult at the end. I was just not playing. He was always good to me, always gave me advice.”

His route to the top has been indirect, via a loan in Denmark and then, after leaving Paris, a restorative time with Eintracht Frankfurt before his £69m move to Liverpool. Two years after PSG did not register him for continental competition, Ekitike is not merely in a Champions League squad but was part of a Liverpool team that beat Mbappe and Real Madrid on Tuesday. They spent 20 minutes talking after the game. He has spent a little time with another elite striker, but not much. He and Isak have only teamed up for six minutes against Galatasaray, 10 against Manchester United, 45 against Frankfurt.

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Ekitike has so far only played an hour of football with Alexander Isak (Action Images/Reuters)

They could be rivals or a double act. Ekitike sounded unworried by the prospect of competition. “I think I’m able to play with any player and we can definitely play together,” he said. “I think we only played once in one half, so obviously we can’t know yet.” With Isak nearing fitness again, the decision rests with Arne Slot.

And he, Ekitike smiles, can be a demanding taskmaster. “I would say he’s on my back, but [it’s] not a bad thing. Maybe sometimes you feel like it’s a little bit too much and you want to complain, [but] it’s a good thing because I think if a coach doesn’t like you, he will not speak to you or not try to get the best of you. I take that in a good way. On a certain day, obviously, when I go, it’s a little bit annoying, but when I look back and watch the discussion we have, it’s only good things and it’s only me to improve. As a player, sometimes you’re pissed, it’s annoying. I know he wants the best for me and he wants the best for the team.”

And Slot’s advice? Ekitike, remembering his red card against Southampton for an ill-advised celebration, smiled: “Obviously, to keep my shirt on.”