Hugo Boss. That is the catchline that will follow Hugo Ekitike every time he makes a decisive contribution to Liverpool’s season.
And that is probably the problem. Hugo is the boss but he is also the assistant and the third in command, too. If the new £79million striker gets injured, who else is there to lead the line?
The answer is, well, no one. He is the only senior No 9 at the club with Darwin Nunez completing a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. Luis Diaz, who often led the line last season, also departed this month for Bayern Munich.
Everyone at the football club is still in mourning, too, over the devastating and tragic death of striker Diogo Jota last month. Highly-rated teenage striker Jayden Danns has barely kicked a ball in the last year due to a troubling back injury and, realistically, needs a loan move.
So although Liverpool recouped nearly £120m for the sales of South American duo Diaz and Nunez, which represents canny business, there is definitely the feeling that the Reds go into the season at least one man light in the attacking department.
Captain Virgil van Dijk said as much, too, telling reporters after the Community Shield at Wembley: ‘We just lost Darwin and we lost Lucho. There’s always room for an attacker in order to strengthen us so let’s see what the window brings.’
Hugo Ekitike is Liverpool’s new boss up front but there is no one else to lead the line
Ekitike scored in the Community Shield but was taken off to prevent him picking up an injury
The dilemma may force Arne Slot back into the market despite him already splashing the cash
Arne Slot hinted along the same lines, saying that he took Ekitike off in the second half because he could not risk him getting injured before the big Premier League opener on Friday night against Bournemouth at Anfield.
It means the whole attacking department looks somewhat undercooked going into the season: if Ekitike, Mohamed Salah or Cody Gakpo get an injury, where do they turn?
There are some Plan Bs, such as Florian Wirtz playing on the left or Jeremie Frimpong moving into a more attacking role on the right.
But both of them are better in the positions they played at Wembley, not in the front three – plus Conor Bradley is injured at present so Frimpong is needed in the back four.
Youth players are waiting in reserve, 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha the standout star of pre-season and certainly ready to play a role this season. But given his age, the former Chelsea kid cannot be overrelied on and he must be physically protected with his minutes managed carefully.
So, with three weeks until the transfer window slams shut, it feels like Liverpool must jolt back into gear and buy a forward and a defender to cover Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
To be fair to them, this is the plan. Liverpool are expected to accelerate their pursuit of a centre half and forward in the next weeks but their bargaining position has been weakened by the fact that the need to fill the positions is glaringly obvious.
The dream signing for the No 9 is, of course, Alexander Isak. A lot of that relies on whether Newcastle budge on their stance and, in many respects, the situation remains this: Liverpool are mad about Isak, the player is mad about them… but will the St James’ Park club sell up?
It means the whole attacking department looks somewhat undercooked going into the season
The dream signing for the No 9 is Alexander Isak but Newcastle may not want to sell up
Similar can be said about Crystal Palace captain and defender Marc Guehi. Liverpool are admirers of the England international and it is understood he sees this as the right time to move on from Selhurst Park having won two pieces of silverware with the Eagles.
But will they reduce their demands? Given his contract is up after this campaign, this is probably Palace’s last chance to get a decent fee for him – but Liverpool are ill-prepared to splash the cash that the FA Cup winners are asking for and are waiting for them to lower the price.
Although Isak would represent one of the transfer coups of the decade, it must be said that Ekitike looks like a gem of a signing. The £79million man was Liverpool’s brightest star on a day of mixed reviews for the defending Premier League champions.
The 6ft 3in Frenchman is a big lad and leads the line with a presence that the Reds perhaps lacked last year. He can come short and play nice one-touch football, or he can run in behind with a fast pace over short distances.
His goal against Palace, though it did not lead to victory, was one that will have excited all Liverpool fans for what is to come. He played a nice give-and-go before dispatching a beautiful finish into the far corner.
‘Hugo, Hugo, Hugo!’ was the chant from the travelling Kop, to the same tune they used to sing to Nunez. The old king is dead, long live the king and all that.
It is early days and Reds fans know all too well that performances in the Community Shield mean little in the long run – Nunez looked like he was twice the player Erling Haaland was in the 2022 edition… but look how that ended up (124-40 in club goals across the last three seasons).
But the first signs are promising to say the least – not that the performance will have surprised anyone at the club.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi is a target and he would be open to moving to Anfield
Ekitike looks like a gem of a signing and his performance at Wembley excited supporters
It is understood that, on the internal data tests, Ekitike outscored everyone but Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe for strikers under the age of 23. That is quite good going for the former Eintracht Frankfurt man, who can also play on the left wing.
He has settled into the group well and the most pleasing thing is his all-round game. Whereas Slot criticised Nunez for this aspect of his performances, Ekitike combined with team-mates with nice flicks and one-touch lay-offs. His link-up with Florian Wirtz was also on point.
Slot said of Ekitike: ‘It is always nice to score a goal, not only for him but for Jeremie Frimpong if you start your career at a new club. But it would have been even nicer to win a game because that is more important than scoring.
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‘He had a good impact but is also an example of a player that came two weeks ago at the end of our Asian tour so, for me, with only four days before the Friday game it would not have been smart to play him 90 minutes.
‘We have Federico (Chiesa) but he has not been with us on the Asian tour.
‘There is not a lot to replace him with, so if he gets an injury there would not be much to replace him with for Bournemouth, Newcastle and Arsenal so that’s why I took him off but he had a good game.’
So although Ekitike looks like £79m well spent, it still feels like Liverpool need to get the wallet back out if they want to go back to back in the Premier League.
