Hugo Ekitike was not signed to be a passenger. When Liverpool brought him in from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2025, the idea was simple: add a forward who can score, press, and deliver in big matches under new boss Arne Slot.

Half a season in, Ekitike is already more than just “a useful option.” He is becoming one of the central stories of Liverpool’s 2025-26 campaign.

Across all competitions, the 23-year-old has scored 10 goals in 23 appearances. In the Premier League alone, he sits on 7 goals, a return that puts him right in the middle of the title and top-four conversation, every single week.

Ekitike’s Liverpool numbers: sharp, steady and rising

Different stat sites tell slightly different stories on minutes and totals, but the picture is clear. According to Liverpool FC and LiveScore, Ekitike has made 15 appearances for the club this season, scoring 7 goals and adding 1 assist. Other databases that count all competitions and update at different times push that total to 10 goals in 23 games.

What matters is not the tiny gap between sources. What matters is the trend: the French forward is scoring often, in different competitions, and in important moments.

• Premier League goals against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Everton.
• A brace in a wild 3-3 draw at Leeds United.
• Another brace in a clinical 2-0 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
• Strikes in the Community Shield, League Cup and Champions League, including versus Eintracht Frankfurt.

For a player still settling into a new league, new coach and new teammates, this is the profile of a forward who is not just adapting, but driving results.

“If this is Ekitike still settling in, what does ‘fully ready’ even look like?”

Brighton and Leeds: the week Hugo Ekitike arrived

Every breakout season has a turning point. For Ekitike at Liverpool, it feels like the one-two punch of Leeds away and Brighton at home in December.

On December 6, away at Leeds United, Liverpool were pulled into a frantic, open game that finished 3-3. Ekitike scored twice, with goals in the 48th and 50th minutes, and still walked off the pitch frustrated.

As Liverpool’s official site put it, he “shared his frustration at Liverpool only leaving Leeds United with a point… after a frantic 3-3 draw.” That detail matters. It shows the mindset. Two goals away from home in the Premier League would be a dream night for many forwards. For Ekitike, it was not enough.

One week later, on December 13, he took that same energy back to Anfield. Against Brighton & Hove Albion, he did not wait to make his mark. After just one minute, he smashed in the opener.

NBC’s commentary caught the mood and the moment in real time: “And it’s Ugo Echitique with a thumping finish… This man Ekit, he’s been a man in form. He’s been one of those players Liverpool have been able to turn to week in week out this season.”

Ekitike then struck again on the hour, scoring in the 60th minute to seal a 2-0 win. He was voted Liverpool’s Player of the Match for his performance, a clear sign that fans and club alike are seeing not just the goals, but the complete performance.

After the game, he summed it up simply: “It has been a great week – let’s continue like this.” For a club looking to build rhythm under a new coach, that line sounds almost like a mission statement.

“Two braces in a week, both games swinging on his boots – that’s not a ‘squad option’, that’s a main man.”

Slot’s new Liverpool and Ekitike’s role in the attack

Manager Arne Slot came in with a clear plan: keep Liverpool aggressive, keep them front-foot, but add new layers of movement and pressing. For that, he needed fresh legs and sharp minds up front.

Ekitike fits that brief. Tall, quick and direct, he offers a mix of penalty-box presence and smart runs into space. His goals are not all the same type, and that is a good sign for Liverpool:

• Early, sharp finishes like the first-minute strike versus Brighton.
• Quick, back-to-back goals that change the flow of a match, like the double versus Leeds.
• Goals across different tournaments – Premier League, Champions League, domestic cups – which shows trust from the manager in rotation and in big games.

Liverpool’s official reports are already pointing to him as a key part of the team’s recent “resurgence,” highlighting his brace against Brighton as a big part of back-to-back wins after the slip at Leeds.

Slot’s press conference after the Brighton win, where he spoke about “Salah, Ekitike and more,” underlined the new power lines in Liverpool’s attack. Mohamed Salah is still the star name, but Ekitike is now firmly part of the group that defines how this Liverpool side scores and presses.

The Instagram claims and the stats reality

With any quick rise, hype follows. On social media, especially Instagram, there have already been bold claims about Ekitike’s record. Captions have suggested numbers like “7 wins in 10 league starts” and “1 win in 6 when he does not start,” along with direct comparisons to how quickly Salah and Sadio Mané hit certain goal marks.

Based on currently available public data, those exact win ratios and detailed league-start breakdowns cannot be fully confirmed. The total of 10 goals in all competitions by mid-December is correct, and his 7 Premier League goals line up with data from sites like StatMuse and the Premier League stats page. But not every surrounding claim in those posts is backed by clear, up-to-date evidence.

This is important. Ekitike’s story is strong enough on real numbers alone; there is no need to stretch it. His confirmed stats already put him in a very positive light for a first full season at Liverpool.

“Forget the spin – 10 goals by December in a new team is elite by any standard.”

A forward for all competitions, not just the league

Another part of Ekitike’s value is how his goals are spread out. He is not just padding his numbers in one tournament. His strikes are logged in:

• Premier League: 7 goals, including braces against Leeds and Brighton, plus goals against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Everton.
• Community Shield: scoring in a showpiece game to kick off the season.
• League Cup: giving Slot another threat in domestic knockout football.
• Champions League: on the scoresheet against his old club Eintracht Frankfurt, a neat storyline within the bigger season arc.

For a manager like Slot, who wants to compete deep into every competition, having a forward who can deliver outside just the league is huge. It allows rotation without a big drop in threat. It also keeps defenders guessing, because Ekitike is building experience against many different types of opponents.

Video compilations already circulating online, including an eight-goal reel by early December, back up the feeling that we are watching a player on the rise, not a short hot streak.

What comes next for Hugo Ekitike at Liverpool?

The bigger question is what ceiling Ekitike has at Liverpool. With Salah still central and other forwards battling for minutes, nothing is guaranteed. But the early signs are that he is on a path to become one of the pillars of Slot’s era.

His goals have helped Liverpool turn a shaky draw at Leeds into a launch pad for back-to-back league wins. His attitude, shown in both joy after Brighton and frustration after Leeds, hints at a player driven by standards, not just headlines.

There are no verified stories yet of him “replacing” Salah during AFCON or stepping in because of another striker’s struggles. What is clear, though, is that when Slot looks down the bench or writes his team sheet, Ekitike is fast becoming one of the first attacking names in his mind.

Liverpool wanted a forward who could give them energy, goals and flexibility. In Hugo Ekitike, they might have found something even more valuable: a new face for the future of their attack.

If he can “continue like this,” as he said himself, then this first half-season at Anfield may be remembered as the moment a bright prospect turned into a real Liverpool star.