Having witnessed another season of Darwin Núñez mediocrity, Liverpool have decided now is the time to sign a new centre-forward.
The Reds are recruiting from a position of strength having secured the Premier League title last season but know they must spend big to acquire their long-term No.9. They have whittled their search down to two players: Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitiké and Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
Neither appear straightforward deals to complete and Liverpool will have to make a final decision on which towering striker they wish to add to Arne Slot’s star-studded squad. No matter which they choose, they will be signing one of Europe’s most impressive talents.
Here’s a detailed look at how Ekitiké and Isak compare and which the Reds should sign.
Age and Experience
Liverpool need their shiny new centre-forward to hit the ground running. Having seen the Núñez project ultimately fail, the Reds require someone capable of immediately making an impact and settling the nerves of the Anfield faithful. In that respect, Isak is the obvious pick.
The Newcastle striker is not only 25 and therefore has more senior experience than the 23-year-old Ekitiké, he’s a tried and tested Premier League star. He’s spent three seasons with the Magpies and continues to improve with each passing year, yet still has the potential to reach even loftier heights. There are no doubts that Isak, in the right setting, can match the best world football has to offer.
Ekitiké doesn’t have experience in English football but he has played for one of Europe’s behemoths. The Frenchman joined Paris Saint-Germain from Reims aged 20 and struggled to make a significant impact for the Ligue 1 giants, managing just four goals in 33 appearances. That underperformance triggered a move to Eintracht Frankfurt where Ekitiké has sparkled, but there will be understandable concerns over his lack of elite-level experience.
Goalscoring Returns
Ekitiké underscored his immense potential in 2024–25 with an excellent goalscoring term. Having never hit more than 11 goals in a senior season previously, the France youth international produced a mightily impressive 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 appearances for Frankfurt, doubling his goal tally from his breakout season with Reims in 2021–22.
Liverpool will have to decide whether they believe last season’s return is scalable for Ekitiké and whether it’s worth spending a sizeable sum on a striker without multiple high-scoring seasons under his belt.
Isak, once again, is much the safer bet in this regard. While his early career move to Borussia Dortmund didn’t pan out, he made good on his potential upon arrival at Real Sociedad, producing 43 goals across three full campaigns in Spain. After a 10-goal opening season with Newcastle, he’s since managed 25 and 27-goal campaigns at the highest level, conquering defences—including Liverpool’s—in the Premier League.
Price
Were it not for Isak’s eye-watering price tag, there would be no question over who Liverpool should sign. Newcastle are demanding a fee of £120-£150 million ($160.9-$201.1 million) for their prized asset, with the Reds highly unlikely to spend such a large sum on the Swede having already completed a deal worth up to £116 million ($155.5 million) for Florian Wirtz this summer.
Isak’s asking price is steep but given his track record and potential, it could well prove a wise signing for the Reds. The appeal of Ekitiké is his much lower price tag.
The Frankfurt forward will still cost a vast amount but the Bundesliga side are likely to accept an offer in the region of £70-90 million ($93.9-$120.7 million) for their swashbuckling striker, meaning he could cost potentially half of what Isak would. Whether that’s good value for money remains to be seen, but it’s certainly less risky for the Reds—especially if they can recoup a large part of that fee by selling Núñez.
Final Verdict
In a utopia, Liverpool would sign Isak. The Newcastle forward is already at a truly elite level and has proven Premier League experience. He’s familiar with English football, has enormous potential to improve and is a goalscoring machine, regularly proving too much for the likes of Virgil van Dijk and William Saliba. There is no greater compliment for a centre-forward.
However, given Liverpool’s significant spending already this summer, Ekitiké appears the better addition. A more affordable price tag could prove too tempting for the Reds to resist, while he shares similar attributes with Isak—speed, aerial power, superb positional intelligence and a strong conversion rate.
Negotiating with Frankfurt will be far more straightforward than with Newcastle given the latter are desperate to keep hold of Isak, which is likely one of the reasons why Liverpool have already made their move for Ekitiké.
The Reds have seemingly identified Ekitiké as their top target this summer and they know they will be acquiring one of the world’s hottest attacking prospects.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hugo Ekitike vs. Alexander Isak: Which Striker Should Liverpool Sign?.
