10 duels won: Liverpool-linked duo impress as World Cup-winning teammate seals crucial victory | OneFootball

With Liverpool not in action this weekend, Arne Slot and Richard Hughes may have been keeping a close watch on games from elsewhere on Saturday, particularly those involving prospective transfer targets.

Three of the Reds’ last five incoming transfers have involved Bundesliga clubs, and a variety of reports suggest that the Anfield hierarchy could again be scouring the German top flight for potential recruits.

Two players from Eintracht Frankfurt have been linked with the Merseysiders of late, with LFC chiefs understood to be monitoring both Hugo Ekitike and Hugo Larsson.

Liverpool-linked duo help Frankfurt to hard-fought win

That duo were in action on Saturday as their team secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Stuttgart as the Bundesliga returned after the international break, with veteran playmaker Mario Gotze – scorer of Germany’s winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final – also netting the decisive strike this weekend.

The win temporarily moves Dino Toppmoller’s side up to third in the table before Mainz play later today, and it also gives them a five-point cusion inside the top four as they chase down a Champions League finish.

Liverpool-linked duo Ekitike and Larsson both underlined their credentials with their respective individual performances on the evening, as illustrated by statistics from Sofascore.

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

How did Ekitike and Larsson perform on Saturday?

The French striker – who scored a hat-trick against England’s under-21s during the international break – won five duels, took five shots (one on target, one off the woodwork), completed three dribbles and played two key passes for Eintracht on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Swedish midfielder also won five duels (out of seven), posted a 76% pass completion rate and also had a shot on target with another hitting the upright, in addition to making three tackles and two interceptions.

Ekitike and Larsson have had more eye-catching performances throughout the season, but both played their part in securing a vital win for their team over the weekend and may have further enhanced their standing among Liverpool recruitment staff.

Of the two players, the Frenchman seems likelier to be pursued given the firm possibility that LFC will be on the lookout for a new centre-forward this summer if – as James Pearce has predicted – Darwin Nunez moes on from Anfield.

It’ll be interesting to see how they – and the Reds’ other rumoured transer targets  – perform over the final few weeks of the 2024/25 campaign.