Why Hugo Ekitike can outshine Alexander Isak at Liverpool - just like Luis Suarez did to Andy Carroll
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Published 25/10/2025 at 22:33 GMT+1
Hugo Ekitike has made a fine start to his career at Liverpool since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt for £69 million in the summer. The France international has scored five competitive goals, while his team-mate Alexander Isak has just one Carabao Cup goal to his name since arriving from Newcastle for a British record £125m. Joe Cole feels Ekitike could emerge as Liverpool's first-choice striker.
Cole compares Isak and Ekitike dilemma to Carroll-Suarez dynamic
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Joe Cole believes Hugo Ekitike could emerge as Liverpool's first-choice centre forward, potentially overtaking British club-record signing Alexander Isak, drawing parallels with the January 2011 arrivals of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.
Ekitike made an instant impact, scoring in each of his first three appearances, including the FA Community Shield. However, following his fifth goal of the campaign in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win over Southampton, the French striker was sent off for removing his shirt.
His suspension coincided with Liverpool losing four consecutive matches, with Ekitike reduced to substitute appearances upon his return as Isak took over in Arne Slot's starting XI.
The situation shifted during the 5-1 midweek victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League, when both Isak and Ekitike started together for the first time. The partnership lasted only 45 minutes, however, as Isak was forced off at half-time with a groin injury.
As a result, Isak’s stop-start career at Anfield continues, with the former Newcastle United striker missing Liverpool’s defeat at Brentford with Brentford on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the game, former Chelsea midfielder Cole expressed sympathy for Isak but suggested Ekitike could benefit from his teammate’s struggles, likening the scenario to Suarez’s rise as Carroll faltered following his £35m transfer, a then-club record.
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Suarez had joined Liverpool on the same transfer deadline day, with the club reinvesting the £50m received from Fernando Torres’ sale to Chelsea. Suarez’s move from Ajax cost £22.7m.
Cole said: "I think Isak's had difficulties because of the drama. You're a human being and every five minutes there's talk of, 'Are you, aren't you going', and how he left Newcastle... that's happened.
"With Ekitike, it's like the 'Carroll-Suarez' thing when they signed those two players.
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"Carroll came with a big reputation, £35m, and as a young striker. Suarez was a kid from Ajax Amsterdam. So the pressure was on Andy Carroll to be the No. 9.
"Then people started to take notice that Suarez was a good player - a really good player. All of a sudden, he became the No. 9 and went on to become one of the best players in the world.
"This feels similar to where Ekitike has come under the shadows of Isak, and it's benefited him."
'Isak shenanigans have put pressure on himself'
Carroll, aged 22, had scored 11 goals in 19 league games and made his full England debut before joining Liverpool, but he managed just seven goals in 24 appearances for the club before being sold to West Ham United for £15m in 2013.
Steve McManaman, meanwhile, believes Isak will eventually cement himself as Liverpool's main striker but acknowledges that the Swedish forward faces added pressure after his summer transfer saga.
Asked if Isak has something to prove, McManaman told TNT Sports: "Alexander Isak has done it, hasn't he? In a Newcastle shirt, he scored goals in the Premier League. What you would say about Ekitike is that for a 23-year-old, he already looks like an improvement from Liverpool's main centre forward last year.
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"No disrespect to Darwin Nunez, but he instantly looks better than him. He looks more composed; he looks as if he'll score more goals. So you would say they bought better than they had, and that's what you have to do.
"There's a huge amount of pressure on Alexander Isak in the Liverpool shirt now. He's number nine for Liverpool. He has to show that he's good enough.
"At the moment, he hasn't, because of various excuses, fitness levels, etc, etc. He's missed a couple of chances. But unless he scores 20 goals this year, people are going to say, 'He's been a flop', because unfortunately, with the summer he's had, and the shenanigans that he was up to at Newcastle, he's put pressure on himself.
"He's a marked man already. There's going to be enough people to say, It never worked out, you're a flop. So he has to prove the majority of people wrong, because of his behaviour."
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