Hugo Ekitike’s winding path from Reims to Liverpool via Denmark and PSG | OneFootball

From Reims and a Danish loan to PSG, Frankfurt and Liverpool, Hugo Ekitike has fashioned himself into a more complete 23-year-old forward as Liverpool face PSG in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday at 21:00.

Per L'Équipe, his route has been defined by resilience. After advice from Karim Benzema to seek more, he joined Liverpool last summer for €75 million and has 17 goals and six assists in 43 games.

The first pivot came in January 2021, a loan from Reims to Vejle. At 19 he needed three months for his first, ended with three goals and two assists, then returned intent on raising his level.

Reims staff recall a tough start in Denmark ending with a chant in his name. He also played U19 and reserve matches, adapted to a cosmopolitan dressing room, and began learning English.

PSG in 2022 brought the elite, perhaps too soon. Behind Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar he learned patience, endured six months without playing, and tried to serve others, with Vitinha saying the context was not right.

Frankfurt under Dino Toppmöller proved transformative. Given freedom but pushed for numbers, he sharpened his finishing and cut the extra touch, and the coach noted he arrived short of confidence and fitness yet stayed positive, having tracked him since Bayern.

Since September he has been a France international,with eight caps and two goals. In March 2025 he called his start turbulent yet enriching and said one word sums it up, resilience.

Source: L'Équipe