Slot reveals that Ekitike eager to sharpen heading as Liverpool forward aims to raise game | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says Hugo Ekitike is keen to improve his heading as he looks to improve his game.

Ekitike has made a big impact sincesigning for Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, for an initial fee of £69m. The Frenchman has scored 15 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions and is Liverpool's leading scorer in 2025-26.

However, he has scored just twice in his last eightPremier League appearances, netting a brace against Newcastle United on January 31st.

Ekitike has been guilty of missing some big headed chances in recent weeks, with opportunities spurned against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.

Slot has said the forward wants to work on his heading as he looks to reach the next level, adding that it's 'normal' to have areas of improvement at Ekitike's age (23).

The Dutchman also discussed the need for all of his forwards to contribute, amid questions over Mohamed Salah's recent nine-game drought in thePremier League.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing West Ham this weekend, Slot said: "We are used to [Salah] scoring a lot of goals - I think that's the biggest difference in his performances right now.

"But we also know, even in my time, it has happened. I've had questions about Mo not scoring for three or four games but I know he always scores again in the end. That's the challenge he and we have at the moment.

"He is not our only attacker who doesn't score as much as we are used to. It is not that the focus should be all on him, Hugo [Ekitike] and Cody [Gakpo] haven't scored that many goals recently as well, so it is a team thing. But we keep clean sheets, so we don't need to score as many."