Ekitike has found his feet at Anfield, with back-to-back braces in the Premier League seeing him extend his lead at the top of this season’s goalscoring chart.
The Frenchman has scored twice as many goals as Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, while no other Liverpool player has scored more than five goals.
But Slot has been more impressed with the way he has adapted to the demands of a No. 9 in his system when it comes to his work off the ball and the intensity of the Premier League.
Closing on Ekitike: the “intensity” report.
• The “twice as much” statistic: Arne Slot has revealed this Hugo Ekitike now covers double the number of matches compared to his first month at the club.
• Dealing with cramps: Slot explained that although Ekitike had difficulty walking after the Brighton match, he sees the fatigue as a natural consequence of the player finally reaching the required physical level.
• In addition to the objectives: Why Liverpool’s head coach is “getting more and more excited” by the striker’s defensive work rate and tactical discipline, rather than just his scoring record.
“No, he didn’t do that because we knew the type of player we had signed,” he told reporters on Friday, when asked if Ekitike had exceeded his expectations.
“I think he had to leave after 70 minutes in the match against Brighton because he had a cramp, but he has done double the amount of work he did three months ago when I also had to leave him with a cramp.
“But his ability to score, his technique, his speed, all these things, that’s exactly what he has. No one is surprised to see that.”
“He has improved a lot in terms of how much he runs during a match, how hard he works and that is a big help for the team as well.
“People are only focused on goals, but he now also helps us defensively and that is also very important for a number 9.”
Arne Slot reveals details of Hugo Ekitike conversations
“In the conversations I’ve had with him, I’ve probably talked more about what I expect from him defensively than offensively, because he can be offensive [already do it]”, continued the head coach.
“Before we signed him he had no problems with that, after we signed him he sometimes had the feeling of ‘can we also talk about attacking?’.
“But there’s not much to talk about on offense with him, because that part of his game is very good. Defensively, I’m increasingly excited to see what he does too.”
With Alexander Isak opening up about his struggle to reach the heights expected of him since joining Liverpool, Ekitike’s adjustment comes as a relief.
The 23-year-old already looks every bit the part of a Liverpool striker and this is largely down to the way he complements his goals: an all-round striker who can link play and pressing efficiently, while also being able to shoot into the penalty area.
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