Hugo Ekitike: Slot's New Pressing Monster?

Arne Slot recently praised Hugo Ekitike's defensive improvement. The data shows positives and negatives.

Data correct prior to Premier League matchweek 17.

Having looked at Mohamed Salah’s contribution to Liverpool’s defensive work in the previous subscriber edition of this newsletter, it was interesting that Arne Slot spoke about Hugo Ekitike’s off-ball efforts in his pre-Tottenham press conference. A coincidence this well-timed is too good an opportunity to pass up.

“People are focused only on goals, but [Ekitike] helps us out now defensively as well and that is also very important for a number nine,” Slot said. “In the talks I’ve had with him, I’ve probably spoken more about what I expect from him defensively than offensively.”

“Before we signed him, he had no problems with that. After we signed him, he sometimes felt like, ‘Can we also talk a bit about offence?’ But there’s not so much to talk about offence with him because that part of his game is very good. Defensively, I’m more and more excited to see what he’s doing as well,” Slot added.

Alexander Isak is clearly the best player for comparison purposes here. It was hard to get a read on what to expect defensively from either forward when sizing up which man the Reds should pursue in the summer (as they obviously wouldn’t spend over £200m to get both).

An FBRef analysis of Opta data gave Ekitike the edge on the long-established defensive metrics while Statsbomb’s numbers had Isak markedly higher for possession-adjusted pressures. What went before doesn’t really matter now, particularly with Liverpool struggling to string decent performances together. A radar comparison between last season and this suggests Ekitike has improved, at least in terms of the volume of his defending in three of four categories.

As there are more advanced ways to analyse players than counting how many tackles or blocks they make, we should dig a little deeper. There are reasons for encouragement albeit areas for improvement remain.

Not that we should dismiss the insight that more traditional metrics provide too hastily. Ekitike has only made three tackles in the final third in league and Europe this season. That’s fewer than Salah (four), never mind Isak (six).

While it’s pointless comparing almost any attacker with Roberto Firmino for off-ball diligence, he averaged almost one final third tackle every other game across his last six seasons in England. Liverpool supporters expect their centre forward to deliver supreme work rate.

Reviewing Ekitike’s efforts show the importance that tackles high up the pitch can bring. His first in the attacking third saw him work well with Alexis Mac Allister to win the ball following an Everton goal kick in the derby. Against former side Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitike helped to retain possession when it was almost turned over as the Reds probed for an opening. It would be great to see more of this type of involvement, combining with teammates to strong effect.

He is at least doing reasonably well at recovering possession when it is loose in the opponent’s defensive third. You may recall Ekitike featured in the Salah defence article as one of Liverpool’s top five men for final third regains per 90 minutes. His rate has gone up ever so slightly on last season, which is not to be ignored when the Reds are averaging almost 15 per cent more possession than Frankfurt.

Ekitike is also proving an asset in his own penalty box. It won’t be what Slot was referring to when praising his defending but it certainly helps. The 23-year-old is averaging 1.8 clearances per 90, the same rate as Nordic-beanpole Erling Haaland. Past forwards who recorded notably more did so for smaller teams who inevitably face more set plays. Even when Ekitike’s rate cools (as he won’t have to go to Brentford or Newcastle again in 2025/26), he should still offer the same help with clearances as his forward line contemporaries and predecessors.

One statistic which shows the Frenchman’s efforts in a bad light is the defensive section of Hudl Statsbomb’s On-Ball Value metric. Per Fantasy Football Scout, Ekitike has the joint-fifth worst score in 2025/26 among players classed as forwards in FPL.

It’s hard to be too critical when it is unclear exactly how this is calculated. Nonetheless, Ekitike’s figures of -0.12 against Sunderland and -0.14 versus both Bournemouth and Brentford are among the five worst by midfielders or forwards for Liverpool in 2025/26. Isak, for the record, is on +0.20 for the season with only one negative score (thanks to a -0.03 against Nottingham Forest).

We can’t finish without a look at pressing, the ultimate measure of defending from the front. The valuable lesson here is that data shows what a player did, not what they can do. Last season, Ekitike made 14.8 possession-adjusted pressures per 90, 9.5 fewer than Isak.

Yet with Liverpool they are near identical, at 32.5 and 33.7 respectively. That’s not a typo, either; Ekitike has more than doubled his pressing rate since last season.

(And although the data here predates the Reds’ 2-1 win at Tottenham, he made the most pressures of any Liverpool player in that match: 18 raw, 26 when adjusted for possession).

If there’s a mild concern, it’s that Ekitike’s pressure regain rate is the lowest in the squad among players with a decent sample, lower than the average for any other club in the division. It’s a team issue, as regains require the side rather than the individual player to recover the ball, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

The volume is there, which is what counts for now. Whatever flaws remain, the work rate explains why Slot is satisfied with Ekitike’s defensive progress.