Liverpool have endured a mixed 2025/26 season so far, but a couple of their summer signings are starting to impress.
Florian Wirtz has missed training ahead of Leeds United, less than a week after he finally scored his first goal for the Reds.
While goal contributions have been lacking, Wirtz has started to improve in England over the last month or so.
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Similarly, Milos Kerkez’s form has been much better in the last few games when playing behind the German.
But no Liverpool summer signing has shone more than Hugo Ekitike at this stage.
Ian Rush names Hugo Ekitike as Liverpool’s standout player
The Frenchman sits as the Reds’ top goalscorer this term, and fans have compared Ekitike to Fernando Torres.
Now, another former Liverpool forward, Ian Rush, has heaped praise on the summer signing, as per BBC Sport.
Rush named Ekitike as the standout player of the season so far and told Liverpool to keep him fit.
He said: “He [Ekitike] has been the standout. He is a fantastic player who is quick and can play in different positions.
“Hugo Ekitike is the star so far. We need to keep him fit.”
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How Hugo Ekitike is similar to Ian Rush
Ekitike has 11 goals in 25 matches across all competitions for the Reds ahead of facing Leeds on January 1.
He’s led the line well despite much of the focus being on record signing Alexander Isak.
Ekitike has even earned comparisons to Rush following his move from Eintracht Frankfurt via Tony Cascarino.
Cascarino said last month: “He’s just a very dangerous striker. He’s lean, really sharp, good technically and has an amazing work rate.
“I’ve always said the benchmark for work-rate and closing down defenders was always Ian Rush.
“Many other managers of my era would say ‘look how hard Ian Rush works’ and Ekitike has got that in him.
“Is he at the level of Rush? I don’t think I’ve sensed any forward to do what Ian Rush did with his work-rate, but Ekitike is a massive plus.”
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