It is no secret that Liverpool are looking for an upgrade in the centre-forward position, and they could turn to the Bundesliga for their next No. 9.
With Darwin Nunez likely to leave this summer and Diogo Jota‘s form not at the required level since Christmas, Liverpool are in the market for a forward.
The search for a striker could take them to Germany where, this season, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko, both of whom have been watched by Liverpool, have scored 22 goals and 21 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig respectively.
Neither would come cheap, though, with Ekitike’s price tag reportedly set at over £85 million, while Sesko would cost around £67 million.
We spoke to commentator and Bundesliga expert Kevin Hatchard to find out more about the pair and how they compare to Liverpool’s current strikers.
Who is Hugo Ekitike?
He’s a young French striker who first caught the eye at Reims. He played really well for them, was in double figures in goals for them and was seen as a real rising star at that stage.
He was linked with Newcastle and eventually he went to Paris Saint-Germain and that was too early. He ended up being sidelined there, not because he played particularly badly but just because he wasn’t ready for it because there was too much attacking talent there and he couldn’t break his way into the team.
Eintracht Frankfurt signed him on loan originally and then they were able to bring him in on a permanent basis for not that much money in the grand scheme of things (£13.9 million).
Earlier this season, he and Omar Marmoush really clicked. They had a great partnership in attack and even after Marmoush went to Man City, Ekitike really tried to step up and try to score goals and try to lead that attack.
That’s where we are now really, a guy who has been scoring goals in Europe and has also been scoring goals on a regular basis in the Bundesliga.
What kind of player is Ekitike?
I think he’s quite an unusual player.
He’s about 6’2″ but he’s not that great in the air actually, but he’s got this really slender frame and rangy stride.
He carries the ball incredibly well, really good dribbler, wants to run in behind. He’s pretty quick, he’s one of the quickest strikers in the Bundesliga actually. Even though he’s 6’2″, he actually eats up the ground with that kind of long, loping stride that he has.
And he’s very creative; he’s got the ability to make goals as well as score them. He’s not a back to goal kind of striker. He can do that stuff but I don’t think he’s particularly wanting to get the ball into his feet with his back to goal, that’s not really his game.
He can link the play, he does link the play, but it’s not where he’s best suited. That’s something that he could work on.
But I think he’s part of this growing trend, if you think of maybe Sesko or Erling Haaland, guys like that who are tall but also pretty quick and once they get moving, they’re very difficult to stop.
Who is Benjamin Sesko and how does he compare to Ekitike?
There are similarities in the kind of height and stride and that kind of thing. Sesko’s a bigger unit, I guess, taller.
They’re both good goalscorers. I like Ekitike more in the sense that there’s a lot to like about Sesko but I think Ekitike is a bit less predictable.
Sesko’s brilliant and I think somebody’s going to get a really, really good striker there. I just wonder if Ekitike, in the fullness of time, just with the variety of things he can do, will just be less predictable and less difficult to pin down.
But, Sesko, once he gets moving, pace, power, height, all that stuff. Sesko’s probably better in the air but they’re both really interesting players.
