Hugo Ekitike is the second coming of Luis Suarez at Liverpool and his former youth coach already explained why

Hugo Ekitike is set to become a Liverpool player, in what is becoming a simply ludicrous transfer window for Arne Slot and his side.

The young Frenchman, who has drawn comparisons to Kylian Mbappe, is all but confirmed to be Liverpool-bound, with Fabrizio Romano dropping his infamous ‘here we go’ on the 23-year-old on Sunday morning.

Ekitike can’t wait to work with Slot and will bring an entirely different dynamic to the Reds’ attack.

They haven’t had an extremely prolific centre-forward since Luis Suarez, and Ekitike could be about to change everything once again at Anfield.

Hugo Ekitike has Luis Suarez-esque qualities

Liverpool are getting a forward who can be clinical in front of goal, but he’s also a real workhorse. He stands at six feet two inches, but alongside his physicality, he’s also agile.

These are all qualities that Uruguayan forward Suarez had during his time at Anfield: a relentless desire to win, for goals, but also a player who could open up a world of opportunities for his teammates.

Ekitike’s former youth coach Jean-Philippe, AKA ‘Nano’, spoke with GOAL in 2021 and explained some of the qualities he exuded as a young boy, which have continued into his playing career as an adult.

“At Cormontreuil, he scored a lot of goals without ever getting carried away,” Nano explained. “For example, he would never be able to say how many goals he had scored in a tournament.

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“He was a winner who didn’t show off, always listening to improve himself, but not to be the number one. In matches, if he could make a pass despite being in front of goal, he wouldn’t hesitate, because he knew that it was the most intelligent choice.”

Remind you of anyone? Suarez was also a player with immense footballing intelligence, and was just as influential in setting up teammates as he was rampant in front of goal.

On Reims’ eventual interest, Nano adds: “They must have been fed up with Hugo scoring goals every time their teams came to play against us!”

Players like Messi have lauded Ekitike, and it’s no surprise – he really is one of the hottest commodities in football right now.

Ekitike living up to Suarez’s Liverpool legacy no easy task

All things considered, Ekitike has bags of potential, but to live up to Suarez’s legacy at Liverpool is a difficult task.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The now Inter Miami man was one of the most feared strikers, not just in the Premier League, but in the world – and that was reflected in a ludicrous record for the Reds.

Season Appearances Goals Assists 2010–11 13 4 3 2011–12 39 17 7 2012–13 44 30 13 2013–14 37 31 17 Total 133 82 40 Luis Suarez record for Liverpool.

What does Ekitike have on his side? An infinitely better side to come into. Not only are Liverpool reigning English champions with a squad of superstars like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, they’ve also already splashed the cash on some ludicrous names such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.

Liverpool are looking scary, and Ekitike only adds to that fearsomeness. Huge statement of intent from Slot and co this summer.

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