Not Isak or Ekitike: Liverpool struck gold on star worth more than Salah
The external noise around Liverpool’s decision to sign both Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak this summer is curious, to say the least.
Already the volume has been cranked up as rivals look to pounce on any slight sense of a puncture to the harmony of Arne Slot’s squad, with both strikers billed as being among the best in the Premier League and indeed across Europe.
Ekitike is the understudy, but the French forward has scored five goals and laid on an assist across his first eight matches in a Liverpool shirt, starting six times.
He arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt for a hefty £69m fee, but that figure is minnowed by the record-breaking signing of Isak from Newcastle United, who, pre-season-less, has only started twice so far, scoring his first in the Carabao Cup against Southampton on Tuesday evening.
They are both in contention to take the talismanic berth from Mohamed Salah in the coming years, but then the Egyptian King hasn’t hung up his Liverpool laces just yet, and still wears the crown.
Salah's Liverpool future
In April, Salah extended his Liverpool contract, which now runs until the end of the 2026/27 campaign. In the months leading up to the joyous renewal, many thought he would leave on a free, and Virgil van Dijk too.
But Salah stays, having scored 34 goals and supplied 23 assists across all competitions last season, winning the full gamut of individual accolades and lifting the Premier League title for the second time in a Liverpool shirt.
It’s been a somewhat slow start to the season for the right winger, with his ageing legs being considered by some as a reason behind the ostensible decline.
Decline? Salah has scored three goals and provided three assists across seven matches so far this season, and he now carries less responsibility on his shoulders, with Ekitike and Isak jostling for a place in the starting line-up and thus
Even as he embraces his veteran status, Salah remains a valuable commodity on the transfer front. Indeed, according to Transfermarkt, he is still worth £44m.
Isak and Ekitike, young and rising superstars, dwarf him, but there’s another forward in Liverpool’s squad whose market price has shot up in recent times, and he’s an underrated gem for Slot, no doubt about it.
Liverpool's underrated forward
Liverpool are a team of many parts, with Slot and Richard Hughes clearly focusing on establishing greater strength in depth, so as to not only defend the Premier League title claimed last year but also challenge for the various prizes dotted about other forks in the road.
There has been plenty of talk about Ekitike playing off the left, allowing both him and Isak to work together. The former is a central striker, but his athleticism and pace lend themselves to such a role, should he be required. According to FBref, Ekitike ranks among the top 7% of strikers across Europe for progressive carries and the top 15% for shot-creating actions per 90.
But Liverpool, of course, have another who is more than competent on the left wing. In January 2023, Liverpool signed Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven for an initial £35m fee.
Gakpo, 26, has chalked up 135 appearances since signing for Liverpool, scoring 42 goals and supplying 19 assists. His first term under Slot’s wing was indisputably his most productive, having posted 18 goals and seven assists across all competitions en route to the title.
And this while flitting in and out of the starting line-up. Gakpo ranked among the top 5% of positional peers in the Premier League last year for goals scored per 90.
He hasn’t started the campaign as prolifically as he might have liked, especially after notching a goal and two assists from his opening two games, blanking thereafter, but the Dutchman remains a real threat, so settled into his left-sided role for Slot.
Cody Gakpo in the Premier League
Season
Apps
Goals (assists)
25/26
5
1 (2)
24/25
35
10 (4)
23/24
35
8 (5)
22/23
21
7 (2)
Data via Sofascore
But the underlying data from his showings thus far says much of his form, creating two chances and winning 7.2 duels per game.
He might not have Salah’s potency, nor the same degree of output as Isak or Ekitike, but Gakpo offers so much to this Liverpool side, with pundit Peter Crouch even remarking last season that he had “gone up a level” since Jurgen Klopp was replaced by Slot.
It’s hardly a surprise that the £35m fee paid now looks an absolute bargain, with Gakpo recorded to boast a market price of £61m.
Whether Liverpool would actually entertain the Netherlands star’s sale for a figure so comparatively low is up for debate, but it’s certain that he would not leave for a lesser figure.
It’s worth noting that Gakpo, praised by Klopp for his “special” qualities, is of an age akin to Salah’s when the experienced superstar first alighted on Merseyside. He still has so much room for growth, and that £61m price tag is hardly a fixed point as he enters his prime.
Liverpool fans are excited for the present, but Liverpool have built a team capable of challenging in the future too. Rio Ngumoha is a testament to that, the teenage winger billed as a prodigy.
However, ousting Gakpo from his berth will take some doing, and the Dutch talent will continue to thrive in a high-flying Liverpool side over the coming years, an unsung hero.
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