After swivelling on a sixpence inside the box before firing home what proved to be the only goal of the game in Lille’s victory over Monaco on 24 August, 38-year-old Olivier Giroud was quizzed by the French press about his stunningly successful Ligue 1 homecoming. Rather inevitably, the man who tops Les Bleus’ all-time scoring charts – with 57 strikes to his name – was asked about the possibility of pulling on a France shirt again.
“I’m done,” replied the seasoned striker, who announced his retirement from international football last year. “You should never say never, but there are some really talented youngsters coming through and staking their claim. It’s up to them to make their mark. I’ve done my bit, and it’s now over to them.”
In a rather curious coincidence, a week after the former Arsenal ace made his widely publicised comments, France coach Didier Deschamps has named Hugo Ekitike to his 23-man squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifying double-header. Ekitike was originally excluded from the list, but after an injury to Rayan Cherki, it was an easy decision for the veteran tactician to look to Ekitike as a replacement.
“Hugo [deserves to be in the French team] because of what he did last season,” said the coach when the list was released on 27 August, without Ekitike. “You may be seeing him a bit more since he joined Liverpool, but we were also following him when he was at Frankfurt, where he had a good season. It’s great that he continues to perform well, that’s very good.”
As Les Bleus seek to lay down a marker in Group D, they will be looking to the fresh-faced forward to fire them towards the global showpiece. The 23-year-old sharpshooter is undoubtedly one of the “talented youngsters” that Giroud referred to, but things have been far from plain sailing for Ekitike in his journey to landing a spot in the senior French squad. In fact, a parallel can be drawn with the path trodden by Giroud, who was 25 when he received his first national-team call-up.
Looking back at Ekitike’s career to date, in 2022 it appeared as if it would simply be a question of time before Deschamps came calling. After bursting onto the scene with some dazzling displays for his hometown club, Reims, the 20-year-old attracted a series of suitors. In July of that year, he opted to join Paris Saint-Germain, where he would vie for a starting berth with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar. That daunting challenge was the sort that the self-assured starlet, who was raring to wow the global audience, thrived on.
“Coming here was a no-brainer,” the jet-heeled frontman declared during his unveiling as a PSG player. “This club offers me the team-mates, the coaching staff, a highly experienced manager [Christophe Galtier] and the competitions to develop my game. It gives me everything I need to keep improving.”
However, things did not pan out as planned for the promising poacher at the Parc des Princes. In the 2022-23 campaign, he enjoyed a decent amount of playing time, especially given the stiff competition he faced in his bid to command a place in the Parisians’ star-studded attack, but he failed to hit the heights. To make matters worse, when Luis Enrique took up the reins at the start of the following season, the Spanish tactician made it clear that Ekitike was not part of his plans, leaving the youngster with little choice but to seek a move away from the French capital.
After spending half of that campaign kicking his heels, the former Reims forward checked in at Eintracht Frankfurt last February. Although it took him a few months to find his feet in the Bundesliga, for which he inevitably received criticism from some quarters, Ekitike eventually found his stride.
Following an impressive season, in which he chalked up over 30 goal contributions (22 strikes and 12 assists in 48 matches), Liverpool moved to secure the Frenchman’s services last month, with the Merseyside outfit recruiting him as their star striker. In view of his low-key departure from PSG, which went largely under the radar, it must have come as quite a surprise to many to see him check in to Anfield amid such fanfare.
“I feel very proud. Obviously it’s a big club,” said the former French U-21 international, in his first Liverpool interview via the club’s website. “I’m just excited. I’m a bit like a kid. I’ve been dreaming of coming to play in the Premier League. And to play for Liverpool is a good feeling for me. I just can’t wait to start to play games, to win trophies and have success here.”
Renowned for his never-say-die attitude and for pulling through when the going gets tough, Ekitike has once again surprised onlookers by just how seamlessly he has settled into life at Anfield, turning in some seriously stellar early-season showings. Indeed, his three competitive appearances for the Premier League titlists have yielded a trio of goals and an assist.
Despite boasting a plethora of attacking talents, Les Bleus have been without a centre-forward in Giroud’s mould – a towering, athletic presence capable of holding the ball up and running in behind – since he stepped away from the team.
Measuring in at an impressive 1.90m, Ekitike shares several attributes with France’s leading goal-getter, although he probably possesses greater technical ability than athletic prowess. In addition, the prolific pair have both displayed admirable levels of resilience and extraordinary strength of character throughout their careers.
The former Les Bleus frontman might just have found his heir apparent in French colours.
