Ian Wright instantly disagreed with Gary Neville on Hugo Ekitike | OneFootball

Ian Wright had a minor disagreement with co-host Gary Neville over Liverpool signing Hugo Ekitike.

The Frenchman moved to Merseyside this summer to the tune of £69m (initial fee) from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Two goals and an assist have since followed in competitive action, with the striker scoring in both the Community Shield defeat and the Reds’ Premier League opener.

Gary Neville has doubts about Hugo Ekitike but Ian Wright stands firm

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Neville admitted he wasn’t so sure Liverpool new boy Ekitike would be a hit straight off the bat, despite a promising start to his competitive career on Merseyside.

“I think he’ll be a hit eventually, but I’m not sure he’ll be a hit straight away,” the Monday Night Football co-host spoke on The Overlap.

Wright disagreed: “You know why I’ll go with a hit? Just the way he took his chances the other day. If he can get that going…”

Jamie Carragher interjected: “You know what I liked, Wrighty? The little touch on the halfway line.”

The former Arsenal star returned: “I think he’ll be a hit simply because Liverpool will create the chances and, if he’s going to finish like that… I’m going to go with ‘hit’ for Hugo Ekitike.”

We’re under no illusions that our No.22 is by any means the finished product at only 23 years of age.

However, to suggest that his opening performances at the Anfield-based oufit have been anything other than encouraging would be disingenuous.

Ekitike stats against Bournemouth

Hugo Ekitike recorded an 8/10 rating on Sofascore for his goalscoring display against Bournemouth.

The former Bundesliga star recorded the third highest score on the night of the Liverpool starting-XI.

The stats provider recorded the following impressive numbers:

→ 1 goal

→ 1 assist

→ 1 big chance missed

→ 1/2 dribbles completed

→ 33 touches

→ 14/21 accurate passes (67%)

→ 2 key passes

→ 1/5 ground duels won

→ 4/6 aerial duels won

→ Possession lost 11 times

Ekitike has a bright future at Liverpool Football Club

There’s something, dare we say it, almost Bobby Firmino-esque about the ex-Frankfurt hitman.

Mind, it’s far from being a perfect comparison, but there are certainly shades of the Brazilian in Ekitike’s willingness to drop deep, play in marauding teammates and generally knit play around the final third.

Sprinkle some remarkable long-range dribbling on top and the recruitment team have added quite the potent weapon to our forward line this summer.

We suspect the physicality of the English top-flight will still take some getting used to for the player. But there are already clear signs of Hugo Ekitike adjusting even quicker to this challenge than fellow new man Florian Wirtz.

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