He has caught English eyes. Three of those goals at U21 international level came in March of this year as France beat England 5-3 in a thrilling friendly played in Lorient. A match that featured three goals inside the opening seven minutes saw Ekitike produce a hat-trick for the hosts against a Young Lions team for whom new Reds colleague Harvey Elliott started and also scored. A few weeks later, on English soil, he conjured a stunning low effort from outside the box to open the scoring away at Tottenham Hotspur for Eintracht in the Europa League last eight.
Fourth country played in. Hugo only turned 23 in June but this move to Merseyside represents a fourth new environment of his football career. The Frenchman’s development in his own country included a loan spell out at Vejle Boldklub in Denmark, before Frankfurt became his third different experience in January 2024, initially on loan again. Liverpool now welcomes him as another fresh chapter in his life.
He’s a palindrome! When he pulls on the Liverpool shirt soon, Ekitike will join a small band of players with a particular curiosity – those whose surnames are spelled the same backwards as forwards. For the Reds, there was previously Andrew and David Hannah, who each represented the club in the late 1800s, the former being its first ever captain. In more recent times, Sheyi Ojo and Ozan Kabak have also been palindromic players at LFC.
‘A simple guy.’ Ekitike describes himself as a quiet, chilled character away from the pitch, mostly preferring the comforts of home during his free time. A watcher of the NFL and lover of basketball, he is also a big fan of rap music, particularly that of French artists. “Outside from football is a different side of me, I’m very chilled. I love to be at home with my family,” he once said. “I’m just like a simple guy!”
Follow him on social media. The Reds’ new man is active on X, where he posts under the username @hekitike9, and Instagram as @hekitike. If TikTok is your bag, you’ll find him under @hekitike there too.
