How Liverpool Can Replace Injured Hugo Ekitike: Short-Term Fixes, Transfer Targets

The big-money striker is expected to be sidelined until 2027 with an Achilles injury.

Hugo Ekitiké’s season is over. | FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

Elimination from the Champions League came with an added cost for Liverpool, who saw striker Hugo Ekitiké stretchered off during the first half of the 2–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Reports suggest Ekitiké has suffered a serious Achilles injury which has not only ended his involvement this season, but stands to keep him out of action until the start of 2027 at the very earliest.

Losing their top scorer is the last thing Liverpool needed as they find themselves locked in a battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Replacing the Frenchman is an issue which needs addressing immediately, but it also poses a major headache heading into the summer transfer window.

Here’s how Liverpool can cope without the injured Ekitiké.

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Short-Term Solutions

Alexander Isak is still working his way back to full fitness. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Questions have rumbled on all season as to whether Liverpool actually needed to sign Ekitiké last summer. The Reds spent $106 million (£79 million) to beat Newcastle United to his signature just weeks before the $170 million acquisition of Alexander Isak from the Magpies themselves.

How the pair would play together was hotly debated but it is a problem which Arne Slot has seldom had to face. Isak’s fitness injuries meant the pair had played just 169 minutes together before Ekitiké’s Achilles injury limited their latest outing to 31 minutes.

Ekitiké has been needed as cover for Isak. Now, it is the Swede’s turn to fill the void at the top of Liverpool’s attack.

Complicating matters further is Isak’s continued recovery from his own injury. A fractured fibula in December kept Isak sidelined until early April and he has played just three times since his comeback. Slot has been limiting the Sweden international’s minutes so far, safe in the knowledge that Ekitiké was there to shoulder most of the heavy lifting. Now, that is no longer the case.

The emergency cover at striker has tended to come from Dutch winger Cody Gakpo, while Italy international Federico Chiesa was an option earlier this season but has been increasingly unfavored as the campaign has progressed. The pair have combined for eight Premier League goals.

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Summer Transfer Window

Liverpool may need to get creative. | Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images

With Ekitiké sidelined for the first half of next season at the very least—even an on-schedule return would likely need months of rediscovering match fitness—Liverpool may be tempted to consider their options in attack once the summer transfer window opens.

Isak is, as it stands, the only natural striker available to Slot. When fit, he is guaranteed to be the starter next season as he seeks to justify his status as the most expensive player in Premier League history. A total of 23 goals during his final year with Newcastle suggests he is up to the task.

However, even if Isak avoids injury all season, cover will still be needed. Gakpo and Chiesa could still operate as alternatives, although neither have inspired much confidence and both are facing uncertain futures at Anfield anyway. A more trustworthy, natural striker may be sought.

Having spent so heavily in the summer, particularly on strikers, Liverpool will not be repeating that shopping spree this year. Isak and Ekitiké are the strikers of the future but a short-term option to help cover for the Frenchman’s absence would not go amiss.

Expect Liverpool to shop in the bargain section here, eyeing free transfers or potential loan signings to temporarily fill the void.

In terms of free transfers, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is the headline name on the market, but whether he would accept a season rotating with Isak is up for debate. The same goes for Dušan Vlahović of Juventus.

Fulham’s Raúl Jiménez may not be a glamorous name but has netted nine times in the Premier League this season. As he approaches his 35th birthday, he would understand the short-term nature of a move.

Players at that late stage of their careers, aware of their standing behind Isak in the pecking order, will likely appeal to Liverpool while they await Ekitiké’s return in 2027.

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