Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has shared his thoughts on Liverpool’s new forward Hugo Ekitike, suggesting that the striker can be a bit too self-focused in his play.
Meulensteen compared Ekitike to fellow forwards Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak, saying the Frenchman’s style resembles Gakpo more than Isak.
While Gakpo tends to take risks and look for individual opportunities, Isak is often praised for his team play and movement off the ball.
Meulensteen was speaking to CasinoHawks, who offer the latest online casinos, and said: “I think Hugo Ekitike is a little bit more like Cody Gakpo, to be fair, than Alexander Isak.
“Alexander Isak can play anywhere in the front line. Ekitike, in my opinion, is a bit too selfish at times.
“You could see that yesterday because he came on and the only thing he had in his mind was scoring the goal and becoming a hero at the Kop End.
“But I think there were a few moments where he could have slipped in Mohamed Salah, who was in a far better position.
“But he’s got that, coming on the left-hand side, on his right foot, like Gakpo has. You know what I mean? But they’re both really good players. Skillful, very, very skillful.
“Obviously, Arne Slot has a system of playing with almost a 4-2-3-1, not really with two strikers.
“We haven’t really seen that. It would be interesting if that were the case, if he would play them, you know, Ekitike a bit more on the left and Isak a bit more on the right, with two strikers and then maybe one of the wingers coming in, to make it still a three in the midfield and a full-back over.
“It’s for Arne Slot to decide. At the moment, it’s going to be a little bit like who’s going to get the nudge, whether it’s Ekitike to start and then obviously you’ve got Isak to come on and make an impact because he’s not fully himself, in my opinion.
“I don’t know what the whole transfer saga and the money and everything is, and because the team isn’t really playing well, yesterday he got that one chance and basically you need to put that away to settle everything, you know what I mean, and to settle yourself.
“So at this moment, he’s still a little bit looking for that form that we know he can have with Newcastle.
“So hopefully that will kick in quickly, but that is a decision for Arne to make, to say, okay, what do we do?
“Do we stick with Isak and keep bringing Ekitike on as an impact player, or the other way around?
“It’s not for me to decide, but they’re both players that want to get on the ball on the half-turn and make things happen. They’re both players that like to take players on.”
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