Can Liverpool fit Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike into the same team?

For a team widely perceived to be too open defensively and overreliant on late goals, Liverpool are not doing too badly so far this season. 

Arne Slot’s side have taken maximum points from their opening three Premier League fixtures, culminating with a resilient one-goal victory over Arsenal that propelled them to the top of the Premier League table ahead of the international break, while a raft of summer signings appear for the most part to be adjusting well to English football.

None has looked more comfortable than Hugo Ekitike, the French striker who arrived last month from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth up to £79m. The 23-year-old made an instant impact, scoring at Wembley on his debut as Liverpool were defeated by Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, and against Arsenal he was only denied a fourth goal in as many games by an offside decision against Cody Gakpo.

As humble off the pitch as he is incisive on it, Ekitike has formed an instant rapport with the Anfield faithful and earned a first senior call-up for the France national team. Things could hardly look better for the front man, or for Liverpool.

How will Arne Slot accommodate Alexander Isak in his Liverpool side?

Nonetheless, following news of the £125m signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle, the international break could not have come at a better time for Slot, who must now ponder how best to accommodate the Sweden striker into his flourishing forward line without upsetting the apple cart.

It is, of course, the very definition of a first-world problem, yet it could have significant implications for a team that, following Dominik Szoboszlai’s brilliant late free-kick against Arsenal, has set a new club record of scoring in 37 consecutive top-flight games.

If Slot perseveres with his preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up, either Ekitike, Wirtz, Cody Gakpo or Mohamed Salah will have to miss out. But who? The answer will reveal much about the thinking behind Liverpool’s summer transfer strategy.

After beating Bayern Munich to Wirtz’s signature in a deal worth up to £116m – a British transfer record until the Isak deal – the Germany international is a shoo-in. No club spends that amount of money on a player merely to have them warm the bench. 

The same could be said about Ekitike, the third most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history. Assuming he is not to become a back-up to Isak in the No 9 role, the Frenchman would need to be deployed either to the left or right of Wirtz, where his pace, trickery and ability to cut inside full-backs would offer obvious advantages.

Who is most likely to make way following Isak’s arrival? 

Despite a relatively quiet start to the season since scoring against Bournemouth on the opening day, it is hard to imagine Salah making way on the right flank. Having delivered 246 goals and 114 assists in 404 games since his arrival in 2017, the Egyptian, is among the first names on any Liverpool team-sheet, his influence at the top end of the pitch as indispensable as that of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk at the back.

That leaves the left-sided spot currently held by Gakpo. A Slot favourite, the Dutchman was frequently given the nod ahead of Luis Diaz last season, and has been an automatic pick in that position since the Colombian’s summer departure to Bayern Munich. The 26-year-old has fought his way up the pecking order since his arrival in January 2023 and, having become a mainstay of the Liverpool attack – and signed a new contract – it remains to be seen how he would feel about playing second fiddle to a newcomer.

Short of reshuffling the pack, Slot could adjust his formation, for instance by playing Ekitike alongside Isak, or using him as a second No 10 in tandem with Wirtz. But that would not solve the dilemma of how to fit five players into four positions, and it may be that the Dutchman will simply rotate between Gakpo and Ekitike, much as he did with Diaz last term – and much as any manager must do over the course of a long season that will almost inevitably bring injuries at some point. 

Nor should it be forgotten that Salah will be unavailable between late December and mid-January, when he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations. That phase of the campaign will offer an obvious opportunity for Slot to experiment with his forward options.

Slot’s dilemma would be the envy of most Premier League managers; wherever Liverpool go from here, it will be fascinating to see what answers he alights on.