by Hugo Ekitike is a 79 million pound -sterling striker who exchanged the Bundesliga for the Premier League champions and is preparing to test themselves against the best defenders of England and Europe. Four years ago, he struggled to break through in his childhood club Reims and was sent on loan to Denmark to find out more about football and himself.
Ekitike arrived as 18 years in the city of Vejle in January 2021 to join a club ready for a relegation battle, a world far from what it can expect in Liverpool. Although a naturally confident person, he took the time to settle in life far from home. But it was quickly apparent that Ekitike had natural capacities and an electrifying rhythm with which to torment the teammates in training and excite his manager. First of all, however, he needed to inform the Danish league and started with a cameo out of the bench in a relentless draw against Aarhus.
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“We have put him for the last 10 minutes as an attacker and he did not play very well, but it is normal,” said the former head coach of Vejle, Constantin Galca. “You need a little time to adapt to the team. But the next game, we have put it on the left. We have seen before in the clips of him that he had a good control, a good speed. Before he played more as an attacker, but we thought he would be dangerous on the wing. He is a perfect player for modern football because he has all the attributes: rhythm, skill, physical and finish. ”
Ekitike showed for Liverpool on Sunday, in the community shield against Crystal Palace, why Galca thought he would be an asset on the wing. Although he started as a central attacking, he cut off from the left and wrapped the ball in the corner for the opener. If Alexander Isak arrives from Newcastle in the coming weeks, this could be a useful option for Arne Slot.
In Vejle, the naivety of Ekitike was as obvious as his talent and he had to wait for his time. He was almost two and a half months old, during which he made four substitute appearances, before Ekititiké begins, in Oodense.
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“Denmark is a difficult place to move in winter for anyone,” explains Galca. “The days are short, the nights are long and it is very cold. But step by step, he spoke a little more. He became more installed in the environment and met his teammates.
“He worked very hard every day and won the confidence of his teammates. He was very intelligent, learning and adapting very quickly to our philosophy. ”
Ekitike has become a large part of the locker room. When music played, he was dancing, trying to encourage his more conservative Danish teammates to join him. He is known to the club for a contagious smile and was embraced, despite the pleasure he took to humiliate more experienced colleagues in training with his quick feet and his dribblant prowess.
In Reims, the following season, Ekitike was better equipped to cope with everything. He scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 and in July 2022, Paris Saint-Germain lent him on loan before rendering the permanent agreement a year later for 35 million euros. He was transferred to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024 for just under half.
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Given the figures for which the 23 -year -old was sold, it is surprising that he has not yet made his international debut, which even allows the talent available to France. The clubs have, in essence, paid the potential and Liverpool thinks that if it continues at the same rate of progression, it will become one of the main elite shooters in the world. He scored 15 times in 33 Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt last season.
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“It does not matter that he played in front of the face or with his back to the goal, he always had a solution, whatever the situation, whether close to the goal or more and more to go up the ground,” explains Galca. “It proved that it had good quality, because it is difficult to think of the solution before receiving the ball, then playing quickly when you get it.”
Galca often used Ekitike as a winger. The player’s key contributions in the battle for survival included the scoring twice in a crucial victory on horses and once in a draw with a smell. The tip for Galca was to make him use his skills at the right time.
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Galca is head coach at Rapid Bucharest after an eclectic coaching trip and closely follows the progress of Ekititiké. He spent most of his playing days in Spain and won 68 caps for Romania. During a spell managing Espanyol, he had a young Marco Asensio on loan from Real Madrid.
“Marco was similar, playing at a very high level, but Ekitike has more quality against one,” he said. “He works harder, he has a better physical condition … He would always score more goals because he is the best finisher.”
Vejle offered Ekitike an earth and an understanding of a different football world. He was intelligent enough to grasp him and took this attitude towards Anfield.
