Didier Deschamps explains Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitiké’s absence from France squad | OneFootball

Despite a promising start to life at Liverpool, Hugo Ekitiké (23) was not included in the France squad for the upcoming international break.

The Frenchman has three goals in three games since joining Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt in a €95m deal over the summer. Prior to that, the former Stade de Reims and Paris Saint-Germain forward lit up the Bundesliga, netting 26 goals in an 18-month spell at Eintracht Frankfurt.

However, he has not yet made the jump up to international level. Having represented Les Bleus at youth level, he is still awaiting his first call-up from Didier Deschamps. As expected, it did not come today as Deschamps announced his squad to face Ukraine and Iceland in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In attack, Deschamps instead opted to call-up Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembélé, and Kylian Mbappé, all of whom can play in the No.9 role. Maghnes Akliouche, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, and Michael Olise have all also been selected.

Deschamps has now explained Ekitiké’s absence. “Hugo, what he did last season and now at Liverpool… we were already following him at Frankfurt. It is good for him! It is great that he is efficient, but there is competition. I am not going to accumulate players, but he has the potential to play for the France national team,” he said upon the unveiling of his squad.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle