Liverpool fans will be stunned by official announcement regarding ‘outstanding’ Anfield beast | OneFootball

The club season will pause for the first of the autumn international breaks next week, and one Liverpool player already knows that he won’t be involved.

Once the Reds are through with their titanic showdown against Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, many of Arne Slot’s squad will jet off around Europe (and further afield in some cases) to represent their countries.

However, there’s one man who – rather surprisingly – will be be spending the first two weeks of September on Merseyside rather than linking up with his national team.

Liverpool striker Ekitike snubbed by Didier Deschamps

France head coach Didier Deschamps today confirmed his squad for Les Bleus’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, as announced on their official X channel @equipedefrance.

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is included, while there’s a maiden call-up for Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche.

However, despite scoring in each of his first three games for the Reds, there’s no place in the squad for Hugo Ekitike, who’s still awaiting a senior debut for his country even after netting 22 times for Eintracht Frankfurt last season.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Harsh on Ekitike, but Liverpool fans won’t complain!

Even though reports from France last weekend had indicated that the 23-year-old could miss out due to the riches of attacking options at Deschamps’ disposal, it still seems rather surprising that he hasn’t made the cut.

One of his nation’s greatest ever goalscorers – a certain Thierry Henry – labelled his compatriot ‘outstanding‘ after he netted against Newcastle on Monday night, which made it three goals in as many appearances to begin his Liverpool career.

Conversely, while Ekitike misses out in spite of his flying form, Konate is included despite enduring a difficult start to the campaign which has seen him ship some fierce criticism from numerous pundits.

The continued faith from Deschamps might hopefully give the 26-year-old a boost ahead of the Arsenal game and see him put in a redemptive performance, while his fellow countryman at the other end of the pitch will surely be all the more motivated to prove the France coach wrong.

It’s harsh on Liverpool’s red-hot number 22 not to get the call for his country, but if that means he’ll rest up during the international break rather than running the risk of injury in competitive action for Les Bleus, we’re certainly not complaining!