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Stan Collymore highly impressed by what he’s seen from ‘solid 8/10’ Liverpool summer signing

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop | By Liam Togher | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:09 AM ET

Stan Collymore has been impressed by what he’s seen from one of Liverpool’s summer signings in his first few games at Anfield.

In July, the Reds snapped up Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69m, with that potentially rising to £79m with add-ons (The Independent).

While perhaps not garnering as much media attention as the £100m+ additions of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, the Frenchman has made an immediate impact on Merseyside, scoring in each of his first three matches for Arne Slot’s side.

Collymore praises ‘solid’ Ekitike

In his latest column for CaughtOffside, Collymore highlighted a few traits from the 23-year-old which have impressed him and has backed the striker to be a consistently top performer for Liverpool.

The former Reds attacker wrote: “I like Ekitike. I think he does a lot of things very well. He holds the ball up well. He can run in behind. He’s got really good feet. He’s a physical presence.

“I know that all of the lights have been shone on Isak and also Wirtz, but I think that Ekitike that might be the one that is the solid 8/10 over his Liverpool career.”

Ekitike already looks like he’ll deliver consistently for Liverpool

Consistency is crucial if a player is to succeed at Anfield, especially now that there’s such intense competition for places in Slot’s starting XI, but the early signs from Ekitike are that he can deliver on a regular basis for the Reds.

The arrival of Isak could obviously have implications for the Frenchman’s place in the line-up, but with the £125m man undercooked after not playing for more than three months, our number 22 will continue to be relied upon in forthcoming games.

Even if he drops out of the team when the ex-Newcastle star is fully up to speed, the intense fixture schedule that Liverpool will face in the autumn should see the 23-year-old continue to enjoy plenty of opportunities.

Collymore predicts that Ekitike will be a ‘solid 8/10’, and much like a Bobby Firmino or Daniel Sturridge before him, the former Eintracht Frankfurt marksman may be quite content to get on with his job effectively while allowing other teammates to steal the limelight.

It’d be asking a lot of the French forward to maintain his current goals-per-game ratio over a number of months at Anfield, but if he can reach the 15-20 goal per season mark on a consistent basis, he’ll prove to be a highly astute signing!

This article first appeared on Empire of the Kop and was syndicated with permission.

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