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Alexander Isak is a man in demand this summer. Liverpool and Arsenal have been linked with the Swede. It would take a monumental bid to convince Newcastle to sell their prized asset, and for good reason. Isak scored 23 goals in the Premier League in the season just finished; only Mohamed Salah (29) scored more.
With few, if any, clubs prepared to match Newcastle’s reported £150m asking price, those keen on Isak could do worse than make a move for a striker whose style is eerily similar to that the Sweden international. An Isak-lite, if you will. Hugo Ekitike is hot property on the forward market after he enjoyed a fine campaign for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring 15 times and providing eight assists.
Omar Marmoush took the plaudits in the first half of the season, but the Egyptian’s £59m move to Manchester City in January allowed Ekitike to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. The 22-year-old flourished with the added responsibility of leading the line for Eintracht, which was especially impressive given that they changed from a two-man striker approach to playing Ekitike as a lone frontman.
Most of the top clubs in England are in the market for a player who can lead the line, so it’s no surprise that Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in Ekitike. After an indifferent spell with PSG, the young Frenchman’s development is very much back on track in Germany.
What stands out about Ekitike is not just his goals return, but the variety of ways with which he can hurt teams. His eight assists this season stemmed from 44 key passes, the 24th best return in the Bundesliga. His desire and ability to bring others into play will appeal to buying clubs. Managers no longer want their forwards to just put the ball in the back of the net, but to act as selflessly as possible, whether that means providing chances for others or drifting to the flanks to open up space for wide forwards.
The 23-year-old (who is celebrating his birthday this week) does this to a high standard. He likes to pull out wide to allow wingers to cut inside and wreak havoc upon defences. Arsenal and Liverpool, whose wide forwards love to cut in on their stronger feet, would certainly benefit from this approach. When Ekitike pulls wide, he has the requisite low centre of gravity to take on defenders. At 6ft 3in, he has good feet for a big man. Ekitike completed the sixth most dribbles (52) in Germany’s top tier this term.
Not only does he look to put opponents on the back foot but his hold-up play and dribbling help to alleviate pressure on his own team’s goal. He can also press well. Having won possession in the attacking third 20 times – the 11th highest in the Bundesliga – his ability with the ball at his feet, combined with his desire to press hard and high, adds to the young striker’s appeal.
That said, Ekitike is far from the finished product, which shouldn’t come as a shock given his age and relative lack of experience at the very top level. He is confident in front of goal – he took more shots (117) than any other player in the Bundesliga this season – but his finishing did not always match his ambition.
Only Serhou Guirassy (25.41) and Harry Kane (23.29) generated more xG than Ekitike (22.55); the issue was that Ekitike’s xG underperformance of 7.55 was far and away the largest in the league. A lack of composure in the final third shouldn’t come as a surprise given his age but it is an area in which he needs to improve to fulfil his potential. Manchester United fans may be wary of their club signing another striker who needs a lot of chances to score given their frustrations with Rasmus Højlund this season.
Time, though, is very much on Ekitike’s side. With the right coaching, his xG underperformance should come down. If he maintains his current approach, and does not dip in confidence like Højlund, he should be more than capable of scoring at least 20 league goals per season from here on out.
With a number of high-profile strikers on the market this summer – Viktor Gyökeres, Benjamin Sesko, Victor Osimhen and Rodrygo may leave for pastures new this summer – Ekitike could be part of a major transfer merry-go-round across the continent. Given he may be available for as little as £60m, he is perhaps the best value-for-money frontman in Europe. The rough edges need smoothing but his style of play and ability to operate on his own or with a partner means he should be high on the wishlists of Europe’s powerhouse sides.
This is an article by WhoScored
