Liverpool appear to have been “wise” to sign two centre-forwards this summer, according to Arne Slott, who helped Hugo Ekitike come back stronger than ever from his “catastrophic” injury.
The Liverpool striker will miss the remainder of this season and the World Cup with France and could also be forced to miss a significant part of next season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The timing of Ekitike’s injury was unfortunate for Slot, as Alexander Isak had just returned from his own lengthy layoff.
The summer signing made his first start since December in Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat, but failed to make an impact and was substituted at half-time.
“It’s a shock for him (Ekitike) to come to a new club and make an impact,” Slott said.
“The first thing that strikes me is that he was out for so long and missed out on special moments. He is neither the first nor the last to go through this. There are many examples of players who have come back even stronger. That is his challenge. In 10 to 15 years he could be one of those players who can say he is stronger because of his injuries and can play at an even higher level than before.”
“First of all, it’s a good thing we signed two No. 9s, because there were a lot of people arguing about why we signed them,” Slott added.
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“We thought it might be a wise idea not to be the only club in the world to only have one No. 9. Now people are probably wondering whether we should sign another No. 9.
“The next day (at PSG), someone said to me: You can’t write a script where on the day Alex returns for the first time in four months, the other player is off the field with a long-term injury. It’s good that Alex is back even more now, but we also know that he’s not ready to play 90 minutes () yet.”
Slots: The future is bright
Everton vs Liverpool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on Sunday
Liverpool’s sole focus is securing Champions League football, starting with Sunday’s decisive Merseyside derby against Everton, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Despite losing 2-0, Slott believes Tuesday’s performance against PSG points to a positive future.
“We had more possession, created 21 shots and were able to achieve a high xG against a team that is used to dominating possession,” he said.
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“Even considering that Hugo had to leave after 30 minutes, Alex had to leave at half-time. If you see them play at their best for more than 90 minutes, this team has already shown, as in many other moments, that they can compete with the best teams in Europe.”
“This shows that this team is already very strong, but with the departure of Robbo (Andy Robertson) and Mo (Salah) we need some changes, but the future looks bright for us.
“We’re a trading club, so let’s see what actually happens in the summer first.”
‘No more failed run-ins for Liverpool’
Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor’s analysis of the Liverpool press conference:
Arne Slott summed up the news that Hugo Ekitike had ruptured his right Achilles tendon as “devastating for him”.
It was confirmed that Liverpool’s all-competition top scorer still required surgery, with predictions that he would return even stronger and ready to perform at the highest level. Liverpool as a whole have only been able to achieve so much this season starting games and starting games.
Hugo Ekitike suspected of suffering Achilles tendon injury against PSG
Slott once again reiterated that the future is bright. There will be changes in the summer, especially with the departures of Mo Salah and Andy Robertson confirmed, but Slott didn’t talk about numbers, instead talking about the decisions they face about what to do about it. For example, Kostas Tsimikas is set to return from loan and has one year left on his contract, but will they follow a similar path or consider something else when looking for Salah’s replacement?
This was half-joking, but given the debate over whether Liverpool were right to sign two No. 9s last summer, there was an acknowledgment that questions were already being asked about whether they needed to bring in another striker.
In the short term, all the slots have to offer is Champions League football next season.
In that regard, the win against Fulham gave Liverpool some breathing room before the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson.
Last season, he played in the final derby at Goodison against an Everton team they desperately want to lose, but the fact that this is Liverpool’s first visit to their new home is also akin to motivation.
But the bottom line for Slott is that things can change quickly in football and this weekend’s setback will once again increase the pressure in the race for Champions League qualification.
