by Hugo Ekitiké is a 79 million pounds who exchanged the Bundesliga for the Premier League master and is preparing to test himself against the best defenders in England and Europe. Four years ago, he fought to achieve the breakthrough at his youth club Reims and was loaned to Denmark to learn something about football and himself.
Ekitiké arrived in the city of Vejle in January 2021 to join a club that is intended for a relegation battle, a world that is removed from what he can expect in Liverpool. Although he naturally self -confident, he took the time to settle in the life of home. But it was quickly obvious that Ekitiké had natural skills and electrifying pace to torture teammates in training and record its manager. First, however, he had to be up to date with the Danish league and began with a Cameo appearance from the bank in a goalless draw against Aarhus.
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“We put him on as a striker for the last 10 minutes and he didn’t play very well, but that’s normal,” says Vejle’s former head coach, Constantin Galca. “You need a little time to adapt to the team. But the next game that we left on the left. We previously seen in the clips of him that he had good control and good speed. Before he played more as a striker, we thought he was dangerous on the wing. He is a perfect player for modern football because he had all the attributes, speed, physicality, physicality and completion.”
On Sunday, Ekitiké showed Liverpool in the community sign against Crystal Palace, why Galca believed that he was an enrichment on the wing. Although he started as a central striker, he cut in from the left and rolled the ball into the corner for the opener. When Alexander Isak arrives from Newcastle in the next few weeks, this can be a useful option for Arne Slot.
In Vejle, Ekitiké’s naivety was just as obvious as his talent and he had to spend his time. It was almost two and a half months in which he kicked four replacement appearances before Ekitiké had a start that started in Odense.
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“Denmark is a difficult place to move to anyone in winter,” says Galca. “The days are short, the nights long and it is very cold. But step by step he spoke a little more. He became more in the environment and met his teammates.
“He worked very hard every day and earned the trust of his teammates. He was very smart, learned and adapted our philosophy very quickly.”
Ekitiké became a large part of the changing room. When the music played, he was first to dance and tried to encourage his more conservative Danish teammates. He will be remembered in the club for an infectious smile and was hugged, although he was hugged with his fast feet and dribble, which he took up with humiliating, experienced colleagues with his fast feet and dribbling.
At Reims, Ekitiké was better equipped in the following season to deal with everything. He scored 10 Ligue-1 goals and took it out in July 2022 from the loosening of Paris Saint-Germain before making the deal permanently for 35 million euros a year later. He was moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024.
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In view of the figures for which the 23-year-old was sold, it is surprising that he still has to make his full international debut, and it also allows the talent in France. The clubs have essentially paid the potential and Liverpool believes that when he continues with the same progress rate, he becomes one of the leading shooters in the world. Last season he scored 15 times in 33 Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt.
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“It does not matter whether he played opposite or with his back to the goal, he always had a solution, regardless of the situation, whether he was close to the goal or further gave up the field,” says Galca. “It showed that it was of good quality because it is difficult to think of the solution before he got the ball and then play quickly when they got it.”
Galca often used Ekitiké as a wing player. One of the player’s most important contributions in the fight for survival were twice in a decisive victory over Horsens and once in a draw with Odense. The trick for Galca was to get him to use his skills at the right time.
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Galca is head coach of Rapid Bucharest after a versatile coaching trip and follows Ekitiké’s progress. He spent most of his game days in Spain and won 68 hats for Romania. During a magic Managing Espanyol, he borrowed a young Marco Asensio from Real Madrid.
“Marco was similar and played at a very high level, but Ekitiké has more high quality against you,” he says. “He works harder, he has a better physical condition … he would score more and more goals because he is the better finisher.”
Vejle offered Ekitiké an grounding and an understanding of another football world. He was clever enough to take it and took this attitude to ANFIELD.
