Could Ekitike and Wirtz strike up the next great Liverpool partnership?
Hugo Ekitike is going to be a Liverpool player. It is simply a case of when the deal is going to be confirmed rather than if the transfer will happen. The 23-year-old is set to complete his medical before joining the Premier League champions on a six-year deal.
By Sam McGuire
When that move is finalised, the Reds will have secured two of the best Bundesliga players from the 2024/25 campaign. Hugo Ekitike ranked 15th last term with an average FotMob rating of 7.47. Florian Wirtz meanwhile, Liverpool’s most expensive signing, ranked sixth during his final season with Bayer Leverkusen, racking up an average FotMob rating of 7.69.
The Reds mean business. Richard Hughes is looking to arm Arne Slot with a squad capable of retaining the Premier League title. To go alongside Wirtz and Ekitike, Liverpool have already signed Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. A centre-back is still on the agenda for the Merseysiders, with Marc Guehi well liked, and another striker could be heading to Anfield too. Alexander Isak is the dream target right now but if Newcastle United aren’t prepared to part ways with him just yet, Liverpool have a list of alternatives.
Every signing to date is exciting. The most intriguing acquisitions, however, are Ekitike and Wirtz.
Throughout their history, Liverpool have had a number of prolific partnerships in attack. There was Kevin Keegan and John Toshack, Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge, John Barnes and Rush, Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, Fowler and Owen, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, and Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suárez.
You could probably include variations of Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in this too. But the focus here is going to be on Torres and Gerrard.
The legendary No. 8 was deployed as an attacking midfielder, tasked with providing the No. 9 with the ammo needed. Across three full seasons, Torres scored 56 goals in the Premier League while Gerrard struck 36 times.
The 2008/09 campaign was, in fact, the most productive campaign of Gerrard’s career with 16 league goals and 24 across all competitions.
For further context here, the only time that the former Liverpool skipper scored 20+ goals in back-to-back campaigns coincided with the signing of Torres from Atlético Madrid. While the only time the Spanish forward netted 30+ in a single season was during his debut year at Anfield.
It was a partnership that just worked.
We might see a similar partnership between Ekitike and Wirtz.
According to French outlet L’Equipe, Slot is looking to utilise more of a 4-2-3-1 shape next season with the former Eintracht Frankfurt man set to lead the line. The report claims: “Arne Slot takes charge. In his video call with the player, the idea of a 4-2-3-1 was presented to him. The Dutch coach discusses an evolution in the Reds’ game plan, including possession sequences. In this context, he also needs a creative, mobile No. 9 capable of combining, dropping forward, and also playing deep. Darwin Núñez is not one of them.”
In a behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke City, Wirtz was deployed as an attacking midfielder behind Darwin. To his left was Rio Ngumoha. To his right was Mohamed Salah. With Luís Diaz looking likely to leave, a new left-sided attacker is expected, with Rodrygo linked. His arrival would put to bed any thoughts that Wirtz might be used on the left for Liverpool.
The German maestro is going to be the man pulling the strings for the Reds in central areas. He’s going to be the one supplying Ekitike. It makes a lot of sense.
Last season, Wirtz ranked seventh in the Bundesliga for goals and assists (22). He was second in the German top-flight for Big Chances Created (17) and he created a total of 57 chances. His Expected Assists total (9.4) was the third highest in the league, as was his Expected Assists per 90 average (0.36). He makes things happen.
There’s a reason that both Victor Boniface (4.5 shots per 90) and Patrik Schick (3.7) ranked within the top 10 for shots last season.
Wirtz managed to get the best out of the two Bayer Leverkusen attackers. Boniface had 22 goals in 42 appearances for B04 while Schick found his way back into the starting XI last term and finished with 21 league goals.
Now, Boniface, Schick and Ekitike all share some similarities. The trio are all 6ft3 and all are huge volume shooters.
It makes perfect sense for Liverpool to have paired Ekitike with Wirtz. The latter knows how to work with someone of the former’s profile.
In his single full season with Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitike finished fourth in the Bundesliga for Goals and Assists (23). He had the second highest xG haul with 21.7. Only Serhou Guirassy accumulated a higher xG total. While the France under-21 international ranked fifth for shots per 90 with 4.1.
On paper, it should just work. And if it does work, we’re about to see Wirtz and Ekitike, both of whom had excellent seasons prior to their moves to Anfield, scale their output to even greater heights. Liverpool might be about to have yet another prolific duo spearheading their attack. It’d be another partnership for the history books.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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