Who’s Liverpool’s star ahead? Is it Mohamed Salah?
It wasn’t till Might that the 33-year-old overcame his workforce victory at Liverpool to choose up quite a few particular person awards. Along with his decisive function in Arne Slott’s successful debut, Salah erased any doubts that he is among the biggest gamers in Premier League historical past.
However even Salah will retire sooner or later, and the beginning of the 2025/26 season will function a reminder of issues that he’s previous his prime and a part of the issue at Slot, with Liverpool dropping three video games in a row this season and missing any of the fluency and momentum they displayed for many of final season.
It is clear that he and FSG really feel the story is much from over, on condition that the Egyptian King signed a brand new two-year deal on Merseyside in April, however sporting director Richard Hughes has however added high quality to Liverpool’s attacking line, with Alexander Isak the centerpiece.
Why Liverpool signed Alexander Isak
For 9 years, Liverpool have boasted Salah as their star goalscorer, however the record-breaking addition of Isak from Newcastle United on switch deadline day highlights the altering place at Anfield. The stability of assault energy has collapsed.
Final season, Isak scored 27 objectives in all competitions for Newcastle. He scored the decisive second purpose in a 2–1 win towards Slott Reds at Wembley in March. It was there that he lifted the Carabao Cup.
With quite a few attacking gamers departing this summer season, FSG determined to spend large on a striker who was already established as among the finest gamers within the enterprise. Isak is predicted to guide a chapter crammed with trophies and produce merchandise for a few years to come back.
Salah, adopted son of Liverpool. However he’s getting older and even when he does return to the identical dizzying degree he had in 2024/25, it’s going to absolutely be short-lived in comparison with the potential of a few of his Liverpool team-mates.
Like Isaac. The Sweden worldwide is 26 years previous and is totally accustomed to a profession within the Premier League. Pundit Ally McCoist has already described him as England’s “finest all-round centre-forward”.
However he is not Salah. As a substitute, Liverpool might discover a participant of their ranks who’s near, if not good in place, a pure substitute for the £400,000-a-week celebrity.
Slot distinctive salar kind signal
When Salah first arrived at Liverpool, he arrived beneath intense scrutiny. Scroll by the archives and you will find loads of criticism of Jurgen Klopp when he oversaw the £34m signing of former Chelsea Roma winger Salah, who didn’t impress.
However 9 years on, he’s a Liverpool legend, successful extra than simply silver medals and scoring greater than his fair proportion of objectives.
Now that Salah has retired, Hugo Ekitike might step up as a brand new model of the talisman, and there are some attention-grabbing similarities between the 2.
Liverpool felt that they had signed among the finest younger forwards within the enterprise when he arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt for an preliminary payment of £69 million this summer season. In actual fact, expertise scout Jacek Kulig mentioned of the Frenchman throughout his time at Eintracht Frankfurt: “He can positively attain the extent of a world-class striker.”
However it is a large deal for the 23-year-old, who has struggled at large golf equipment up to now. Ekitike was traded from his native Reims to superpowers Paris Saint-Germain earlier than transferring to Germany, arriving in July 2022 for a payment of €35 million (roughly £30.5 million).
Nevertheless, Liverpool, described by Liverpool correspondent David Lynch as a “purpose machine”, introduced themselves a way more full and ready model.
In 33 appearances for the French capital, all of the objectives he scored had been 4. That is much like Salah’s return to Chelsea, the place he scored two objectives and offered three assists for the Blues earlier than being bought to Roma.
However Liverpool’s scouting workforce have recognized them for a very long time, and Ekitike’s underlying stats are spectacular. In actual fact, taking a look at his efficiency over the previous yr, it’s tough to differentiate between the up-and-coming participant and the highly effective Isak, which is a superb testomony to his qualities.
Alexander Isak vs Hugo Ekitike (final 12 months) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (per 90) | Isaac | capital |
Variety of factors scored | 0.76 | 0.50 |
help | 0.21 | 0.24 |
shot taken | 3.13 | 3.65 |
The motion that creates the shot | 2.96 | 3.15 |
contact (to pen) | 6.16 | 6.46 |
Go completion price (%) | 75.4 | 75.0 |
progressive path | 3.23 | 1.96 |
progressive carry | 2.65 | 2.78 |
profitable take-up | 1.38 | 1.61 |
Variety of balls collected | 1.93 | 2.38 |
aerial received | 0.89 | 1.83 |
Information through FBref | ||
There’s not a lot that distinguishes the 2. Isak is a extra polished and efficient goalscorer, whereas Ekitike is extra full and aggressive with the ball, and in addition makes use of his head higher.
These are uncommon centre-forwards, and Liverpool now have a frontman with the qualities to take over the reins from Salah and lead Slot’s workforce to additional glory within the coming years. Isak is the product of years of improvement within the Premier League, however Ekitike is aware of what it is prefer to fall by the wayside as one of many continent’s finest hitters, and he shares that with Salah.
Ekitike has began his life within the Reds properly, scoring 5 objectives and offering one help in his first 10 video games as Liverpool’s striker. Salah equally broke the Premier League goalscoring document in 38 video games on his first return to England.
Admittedly, whether or not Ekitike will obtain the identical diploma of success is debatable, however it’s true that Liverpool have finished distinctive enterprise this summer season and whereas FSG should now flip to figuring out a successor on the precise flank within the coming interval, Salah’s proverbial inheritor has been discovered and introduced in within the type of Ekitike.
He is prepared to achieve the highest.
