How Would Liverpool Fit Ekitike And Isak In The Same Team?

Liverpool's summertime model was already nan astir funny we've ever seen from a Premier League champion.

Signing Bundesliga stars en masse and swapping retired some full-backs implies a awesome tactical displacement that will emphatically extremity nan Jurgen Klopp era and herald nan dawn of a caller one.

But bringing successful Newcastle's Alexander Isak would push Liverpool's transportation business into unprecedented territory, having already besides signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Not since nan property of bully old-fashioned 4-4-2s - erstwhile little-and-large onslaught partnerships were borderline mandatory - person we seen a apical nine motion 2 elite number nines successful nan aforesaid window.

What precisely is Arne Slot thinking?

Here are 5 ways it mightiness work…

All of our theories present are going to require immoderate quadrate pegs successful information holes - isolated from this one.

Liverpool could deploy a squeezed 4-2-3-1, successful which nan nominal wingers Salah and Ekitike are truthful constrictive they run much arsenic number 10s either broadside of Florian Wirtz, pinch nan width past provided by 2 flying full-backs.

Jeremie Frimpong is simply a very attacking right-back, whose beingness is apt to push Salah much infield anyway, while Ekitike tends to driblet into 10-ish positions moreover erstwhile starting arsenic a nine, arsenic we spot successful nan schematic below.

This strategy would let for fluid activity among that trio of number 10s. For example, erstwhile 1 of Salah and Ekitike drifts wide nan different would stay constrictive alongside Wirtz, creating nan box-shape (with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch) that is truthful important successful modern Premier League tactics.

At different moments, Ekitike aliases Salah whitethorn thrust up into much of a centre-forward domiciled adjacent to Isak, successful move shuffling nan container up a line, connecting pinch 2 number 10s down them.

This is arguably nan astir move statement Slot could usage to get each 4 players into his starting XI - but it would beryllium rather a departure from what went before.

So let's look astatine a much blimpish idea...

The simpler point to do is afloat person Ekitike into a Luis Diaz replacement, assuming nan Colombia guardant completes his move to Bayern Munich.

Ekitike has played conscionable 9 games (two starts and 324 minutes total) arsenic a left-winger, though he has often tended to drift retired to that side, astir notably passim 2023-24.

More importantly, nan measurement Slot has utilized Cody Gapko and Diaz - arsenic one-on-one dribblers, utilizing their acceleration to trim wrong full-backs - corresponds pinch Ekitike's champion qualities.

In nan Bundesliga past play Ekitike came 5th for attempted dribbles (126) and for shot-ending carries (44). He besides provided 8 assists and classed 5th (again) for 'attacking sequence' involvements.

Ekitike's champion shot astatine Frankfurt came arsenic portion of a due onslaught business pinch Omar Marmoush earlier his January departure to Manchester City saw nan extremity of Dino Toppmoller's 3-5-2 formation.

Marmoush and Ekitike regularly swapped positions, dove-tailing instinctively arsenic 1 dropped and nan different went successful behind. It was a swirling, rhythmic equilibrium that confounded defenders and propelled Frankfurt into a title situation until precocious December.

Liverpool are improbable to move to a backmost 3 immoderate clip soon, not slightest because a 3-5-2 pinch Ekitike and Isak would mean benching Salah. But location is simply a measurement to put Isak and Ekitike together, albeit a beautiful risky one.

Slot's Liverpool regularly statement up successful a 4-2-4/4-4-2 erstwhile not successful possession, but crucially that's pinch a 10 (Dominik Szoboszlai) playing very overmuch arsenic a 3rd midfielder erstwhile Liverpool person nan ball.

What we're suggesting present is notably much vulnerable done nan middle, requiring a two-man midfield to screen each nan abstraction erstwhile a speedy turnover triggers an guidance counter-attack.

There's besides nan problem of playing Wirtz connected nan left, a position he has only very occasionally played for Bayer Leverkusen and Germany.

In each likelihood, this is 1 for erstwhile Liverpool are chasing a game. It's a spot kitchen-sinky for thing earlier than that.

If number 3 sounded a spot weird, past you won't for illustration this idea. But it really could work.

Wirtz is regularly compared favourably pinch Kevin de Bruyne, while Marmoush (Ekitike's aged onslaught partner and a subordinate pinch akin characteristics to nan caller Liverpool forward) has been plonked into nan De Bruyne domiciled astatine Man City.

It's plausible Ekitike could accommodate into that hybrid eight/10 position, playing alongside Wirtz overmuch successful nan measurement Pep Guardiola has historically utilized 2 fierce eights successful beforehand of a number six.

Guardiola has ever been a large power connected Slot, who erstwhile described nan Catalan's playing style arsenic "the eventual joyousness successful football". Maybe, conscionable maybe, nan Liverpool head plans to return nan Pep power to a full caller level and regularly commencement pinch 2 eights/10s.

But Premier League shot is progressively transitional and end-to-end, pinch slower possession-hogging connected its measurement out, which is why Guardiola is acold much apt to play pinch 2 sixes - successful a 4-2-3-1 - than nan dual playmaker strategy we saw successful his early title wins.

When elite teams commencement to spot little of nan ball, and erstwhile nan guidance isn't truthful pinned back, it becomes much important to person a coagulated midfield guidelines that tin artifact those quick-fire counters.

Most of nan time, Ryan Gravenberch won't beryllium capable to do it each connected his own. But a City-esque 4-3-3 would beryllium breathtaking to see.

We don't needfully request to travel up pinch a wildcard statement that crams each nan caller signings into nan aforesaid team.

If each goes good Liverpool will play complete 60 games adjacent season, meaning they will request a regularly rotating beforehand statement to support legs caller and opponents guessing.

Ekitike arsenic a £69m screen action astir apt doesn't sound very appealing, but he will arguably beryllium nan second-best subordinate successful 4 abstracted positions for Liverpool - though Szoboszlai, rivalling Wirtz, mightiness opportunity otherwise.

When you see injuries, nan request to rotate for twice-weekly football, and Slot's tactical adaptations to nan opposition, Ekitike could easy tot up complete 30 starts successful each competitions moreover if he wasn't technically considered to beryllium successful nan club's champion XI.

Not that managers of elite clubs thin to deliberation successful position of 'best XIs' anymore - schedules are excessively engaged and injuries excessively communal for that.

In fact, what fans presume to beryllium their team's champion XI seldom really play together, arsenic galore Liverpool supporters cognize each excessively well.

The astir mind-blowing illustration of this arena was first highlighted by Duncan Alexander,, external who pointed retired that nan supposedly-iconic Liverpool XI nether Klopp - nan 1 that started nan Champions League last - had ne'er played together earlier that crippled and ne'er played together aft it.

So, really do you lick nan riddle? How do you get each of Liverpool's caller signings into nan aforesaid team? Answer: you don't.