Virgil van Dijk has shared the message he’s been giving to Liverpool’s new signings, including the latest arrival, Hugo Ekitike.
Just a day after his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt was confirmed, Ekitike arrived in Hong Kong to join his Reds teammates and immediately took part in their open training session.
The French forward is the seventh new addition to the squad this summer, and Van Dijk is pleased with how the newcomers are settling in.
However, he emphasized the significant amount of hard work still required from everyone involved.
“Coming to Liverpool, they will definitely have the quality to play for Liverpool,” the captain told The Anfield Wrap via Liverpoolfc.com.
“For me, it’s very important as well how you settle in the group and how you fit into the squad that we have.
“And I think they did [so] perfectly well. All of them.
“We don’t speak about Armin [Pecsi], a young goalie who just came in, has settled in pretty well. Obviously Freddie [Woodman], Giorgi [Mamardashvili], Flo [Florian Wirtz], Jeremie [Frimpong] [and Milos Kerkez].
“Hugo came today of course.
“Everyone has to work hard and we’re all in this together, that’s the main thing. We have to fight for everything that’s ahead of us.”
On Ekitike specifically, who scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists for Frankfurt last season, Van Dijk said: “It’s good to have him here.
“I said to him, ‘The hard work starts now.’ He has to work his socks off and be important for us whenever he can. That’s the main thing.”
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