{"id":1391699,"date":"2025-07-18T14:36:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&p=1391699"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:36:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:36:55","slug":"squawka-scout-hugo-ekitike-liverpool-target","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/squawka-scout-hugo-ekitike-liverpool-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Squawka Scout: Why Hugo Ekitike is so desirable this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every summer it feels like there’s one player that multiple clubs are in for. This year is the summer of Hugo Ekitike.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Frenchman has been heavily linked with the likes of Newcastle United<\/a> and Liverpool<\/a> this summer. The latter are reportedly Ekitike’s choice and he’s 1\/10 to join the Reds this summer with bet365<\/a>. That’s an implied probability of 90.91%,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the question is, why is Ekitike so desirable? We’ve taken a look to break down his game, from positions, strengths, weaknesses and selected comparisons.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    What position does Hugo Ekitike play?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Ekitike joined Eintracht Frankfurt in February 2024, initially on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. He then made that move permanent last summer, with performances earning the 23-year-old a spot in the official 2024-25 Bundesliga Team of the Season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Frenchman has been utilised across the front line in the league for Eintracht Frankfurt, which is what puts him on so many wishlists. Including his loan move in the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, Ekitike has played 47 league games for Eintracht Frankfurt, with 38 starts. The 47 games brought 3,295 minutes, with nine substitute appearances and only nine full games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Ekitike is very much a centre-forward, with 44% of his league minutes coming through the middle. And a further 51% either side as part of a strike partnership — playing alongside Omar Marmoush before his move to Manchester City<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But he also has some minor experience playing a more supporting role, particularly when Dino Toppmoller played a 3-4-2-1 with Marmoush leading the line. If you look at his heat map above, there’s hardly a blade of grass in the opposition half that Ekitike didn’t cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are Hugo Ekitike’s strengths?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Ekitike was the fifth-best striker in the Bundesliga last season per our Squawka Score. His Score of 77% was only bettered by Patrik Schick (78%), Jonathan Burkardt (78%), Serhou Guirassy (78%) and Harry Kane (85%). But he ranked well in a lot of metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Only two Bundesliga strikers with at least 1,530 minutes played ranked higher than Ekitike for non-penalty Expected Goals. The Frenchman’s 0.64 non-penalty xG per 90 minutes was still high enough to rank him in the 95th percentile and above among strikers. He was also in that percentile for non-penalty shots on target, at 2.62 per 90 — bettered only by Deniz Undav’s 0.66. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, taking penalties isn’t a bad thing, no matter what the modern football fan might have you believe. But you don’t want that to be a striker’s best route for action. It’s always good to know that a striker can influence a game without the need for a spot-kick. <\/p>\n\n\n

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    Ekitike also brings creativity to the attack — which would work well in a more fluid system like Liverpool’s, especially if Mo Salah were to push inside to be a goal threat. The Frenchman averaged 1.54 chances created per 90 in the Bundesliga last season, with only three strikers averaging more. He also averaged 0.42 big chances created per 90, ranking in the 80-95th percentile among strikers for both metrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When he’s on the ball, Ekitike has proven tough to get off it too. Last season he completed 1.82 take-ons per 90 in the Bundesliga, more than any other striker. At 23, Ekitike is by no means the finished product. But there are a lot of promising signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    What are Hugo Ekitike’s weaknesses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The biggest worry for Liverpool fans will be Etikike’s conversion rate. While he takes a lot of non-penalty shots, the Frenchman isn’t the best at finishing them. His conversion rate of 12.82% was one of the worst in the Bundesliga last season among strikers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A shot accuracy of 41.03% wasn’t great either. Ekitike took 117 shots in total in the Bundesliga last season, hitting the target 48 times, And only 15 of those resulted in goals. <\/p>\n\n\n

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    Ekitike posted an xG of 21.58 in the Bundesliga last season — the second most in the German top-flight. But with only 15 goals scored, that’s a -6.58 difference. Ekitike was the worst-performing player in Europe’s top five leagues for xG underperformance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ekitike also had a tendency to stray offside. The Frenchman averaged 0.66 offsides per 90 in the Bundesliga. While that’s not the worst by a long shot, it still placed Ekitike in the 40-60th percentile among strikers. And there’s nothing more frustrating for a fan than a striker who’s offside far too often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How Hugo Ekitike compares…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    With Liverpool the likely destination, it makes sense to compare Ekitike to the Reds’ previous striking options. These are Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, though the latter is being linked with a move away. Alexander Isak is another comparison to make due to Newcastle’s interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Again, the biggest worry for Liverpool fans will be Ekitike’s conversion rate. And it is slightly worse than Nunez’s 17.86% last season. Even if you want to note the closeness of the numbers, Liverpool don’t want similar. They want better. The conversion rate also pales in comparison to Diaz’s 26.53%. It’ll be no surprise that Isak leads the way of this quartet with a conversion rate of 30.26%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shot accuracy brings a similar case, though Ekitike did outperform Nunez here with 55.17% compared to 46.43%. But again he trails Isak (60.53%) and Diaz (61.22%).<\/p>\n\n\n

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    There are reasons for optimism, though. The frequency of Ekitike’s shots on target is better than Nunez, Isak and Diaz. And is 0.6 goals per 90 is only bettered by Isak, which isn’t anything to be ashamed of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ekitike also comes out well with his 0.3 assists per 90, while his 1.5 chances created is better than both Nunez and Isak. Diaz created 2.1 chances per 90 for Liverpool in the league last season, but the Colombian also had time as a winger to boost those metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Liverpool fans will also be happy with Ekitike’s touches in the opposition box. The Frenchman averaged 7.2 touches in the opposition box per 90 in the Bundesliga last season. That’s more than even Isak, who averaged 6.9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ekitike is certainly a promising player for the future, who can also deliver now.<\/p>\n\n\n

    Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n