Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitiké has quickly exceeded expectations following his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt, prompting a public admission from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville that he misjudged the player’s immediate impact.
Neville, speaking on “The Overlap” podcast, stated he initially anticipated a slower integration for the 23-year-old Frenchman. “I said eventually [he’d be a success at Liverpool] but not straight away, and I was wrong. He’s been a hit straight away,” Neville conceded.
Ekitiké joined Liverpool in July 2025 for an initial fee of €80 million, a figure potentially rising to €92.5 million based on performance-related bonuses, according to Transfermarkt. The transfer saw Eintracht Frankfurt secure a significant profit, having initially acquired Ekitiké on loan in February 2024 before making the deal permanent that April for a reported €19.5 million from Paris Saint-Germain. Twenty percent of Frankfurt’s profit from the sale to Liverpool – approximately €15 million – was paid to PSG as part of the original agreement.
The forward has since scored 15 goals across all competitions, becoming Liverpool’s primary attacking option during an injury absence for Alexander Isak. His performances have drawn praise from numerous figures within the footballing world.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot drew a comparison to Brazilian legend Romário even as discussing Ekitiké’s goal-scoring ability. “His [Ekitiké’s] second goal, I don’t know if he knows who he is but Romario who played in Holland and Brazil scored a lot of goals like this. It looked like a Romario goal I have to say,” Slot commented.
Former England striker Alan Shearer described Ekitiké as “world class,” lamenting that Newcastle United, who had previously expressed interest in the player, missed out on his signature. “I mean the brilliance of Ekitike and Wirtz. I thought particularly, Ekitike, I mean, it hurts even more because Newcastle were in for him obviously, as you know, in the summer. But he chose to move to Liverpool, which I get, and that’s fine. But he was the difference,” Shearer stated.
Peter Crouch, another former England international, also highlighted Ekitiké’s similarities to a peak Fernando Torres, referencing the player’s ability to unbalance defenders before striking. “Do you know what Ekitike’s second goal reminded me of? When he burst past him? Reminded me of peak Torres at Anfield. You know, like where he slows people down and then bursts like, he kind of slowed him.“I remember him doing one to Rio [Ferdinand], a couple of times actually, where he slowed him down and then bang gone with the pace and then outside the right foot, reminded me of him.”
During his time at Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitiké contributed to 40 goals in 64 appearances, including 26 goals and 14 assists. He also earned five caps and scored five goals for the French U21 national team since his debut in September 2024. Frankfurt’s sporting director, Markus Krösche, acknowledged Ekitiké’s significant development during his time with the club, stating, “Hugo has in his one and a half years with us a great development taken and was both on and off the pitch a real enrichment for our team and the entire club.”
