Former Liverpool director makes big Hugo Ekitike claim after Roberto Firmino comparison

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Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running at Liverpool since completing his move from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer.

The Frenchman had scored in all of his competitive outings for the Reds before the 1-0 win against Arsenal on Sunday, where Dominik Szoboszlai’s “incredible” free-kick made the difference.

There has been a lot of talk has been made in the past few days following Alexander Isak’s record-breaking move to Liverpool, as to how Arne Slot will fit both his new centre forwards into the same starting lineup.

Ekitike has led the line for the Reds throughout the opening three Premier League fixtures and boasts two goals and one assist to his name so far.

And former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham believes the forward may be better suited remaining in a central role, as he is showing remarkable similarities to Roberto Firmino.

Ian Graham believes Ekitike can play the Firmino role for Liverpool

When speaking on the Men in Blazers YouTube channel, Graham revealed that although Ekitike is more of a natural centre-forward, he has seen similarities in the Frenchman’s overall game with Firmino.

“But as well as looking at players’ position, you’ve got to look at how they interpret that position as well. Firmino, when he was a number nine, he never really played like a number nine, he was more of a number ten.

“And you’ve started to see some of that combination play from Ekitike, now Ekitike is much more of a traditional number nine than Firmino, but he can, it’s not just shooting that he brings. He does bring a bit of interplay.

“So, looking at, you know, the changes in the team dynamics based on that change in role. That’ll be something my old colleagues looked at, certainly.”

Adebayo Akinfenwa also made the Ekitike and Firmino comparison – not only did they both arrive at Anfield via the Bundesliga, but linking up with teammates has been an integral part of their game.

During Ekitike’s “very promising” Premier League debut against Bournemouth, the Frenchman appeared to be at the centre of all Liverpool attacks and, as seen with Mohamed Salah in the past, everything seemed to run through the centre forward.

Although Ekitike could be moved out wide to accommodate Isak, his performances as the spearhead of the Reds’ attack mean Slot will have a difficult time justifying altering the 22-year-old’s position, given his incredible start.

How do Hugo Ekitike and Roberto Firmino compare?

Firmino paved an illustrious career at Anfield as he won every available trophy on offer during his eight-year spell in England.

Ekitike will, of course, hope to replicate the Brazilian’s impact at Liverpool, and the statistics from the pair’s final Bundesliga campaign at Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively, make for interesting reading.

As Graham mentioned, Firmino was originally deployed as an attacking midfielder before he became the staple for the false nine role.

However, considering Ekitike only fell two assists short of Firmino during his last season in Germany, while scoring over double the goals, he could be the perfect modern solution for Slot to what the ex-Red brought to Anfield.