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Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Hugo Ekitike is Thierry Henry-like Arsenal and Man Utd transfer target with symmetrical name who could surpass Gyokeres
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HE'S the man with the symmetrical name hoping to become a household name in the English game. Hugo Ekitike is the hot topic of conversation on Premier League lips right now. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 11 Ekitike was born in France but has roots in Cameroon 11 Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle are all reportedly interested in him Credit: Reuters 11 He won Ligue 1 in his time with PSG playing alongside Neymar, Mbappe and Messi Credit: 2023 AMA Sports Photo Agency And the French striker has shown there is far more to him than a surname that reads the same back to front. Following a sensational breakthrough season with Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitike is rated at £85million and linked with Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. With No 9s in short supply, the 23-year-old has emerged as a genuine alternative to the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres. Not that he is any stranger to these shores having TWICE turned down moves to Newcastle - first in January 2022 and again seven months later. Ekitike opted for Paris Saint-Germain instead, stating at the time: "I'm not setting aside everything Newcastle did for me. "If I had to go abroad, I would have gone there. But when PSG wants you and you're French, you can't refuse." As it turned out, Ekitike ran into a Galactico roadblock in the form of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, while the Toon signed Alexander Isak instead. But now he is available again, we've run the rule over the wiry hotshot Messi dubbed 'The Iron Rod'. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK SO IS HE ANY GOOD? Well, the simple answer is yes. Last season he scored 15 goals and produced eight assists in the Bundesliga, playing 33 of the 34 matches. Throw in another seven goals and four assists in cup competitions, including the Europa League, and you can see why the Premier League's vultures are circling. What really impressed the Frankfurt fans was how he adapted to the loss of Omar Marmoush in January. Up until then, the pair had been blazing away as a two-man frontline. New footage sees raging Jude Bellingham KICK VAR monitor in frustration after Real Madrid's last-gasp defeat But once Marmoush left for Manchester City, Eintracht boss Dino Toppmoller completely changed tack and played one up front with Ekitike leading the line. Far from derailing the youngster, he thrived on the lone role, scoring three times in the first two games following Marmoush's exit and maintaining his numbers until the end of the season. WHAT ARE HIS STRENGTHS? Dribbling is probably his main asset. Ekitike has quick feet and an ability to dance past defenders through seemingly impossible gaps with the ball glued to his boots. Right footed, he is technically gifted and has explosive pace. At 6ft 3in, he looks gangly but is in fact deceptively balanced. He also offers versatility. Ekitike can play as a No 9, a second striker, or as a winger. He loves to drop deep to link play and is excellent at running the channels or cutting in from the left flank and shooting. That has prompted comparisons with Thierry Henry, although a fairer likeness would be Isak. Ekitike is also very good at pressing and winning the ball back high up the pitch. 11 Hugo Ekitike enjoyed a impressive season in Germany 11 He's been described by some as a dribbling machine Credit: Getty 11 He's scored 15 goals in 33 appearances for his German club Credit: AFP AND HIS WEAKNESSES? He is still very raw and, despite his success last season, there are improvements to be made. Ekitike can be guilty of a lack of composure in the final third. Last season, he had more shots than anyone in the Bundesliga (117) but managed only a 13 per cent conversion rate. Compare that to the 23 per cent that Harry Kane achieved from his 114 shots and you would be forgiven for painting a picture of wastefulness. However, it has as much to do with decision-making as it does accuracy. Ekitike likes to have a pop from range with 24 per cent of his efforts coming from outside the box, with less chance of beating the keeper. He is stronger than he looks but, even so, there are occasions where he is knocked off the ball too easily. And don't be in a rush to hand him penalty duties. He missed two in the space of a month for Eintracht last season. 11 He's on the radar of a lot of Premier League club Credit: Rex 11 He could play for both France and Cameroon CAN HE HACK IT IN THE PREM? Often players coming from the Bundesliga struggle at first with the superior physicality of the Premier League. Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Leon Bailey are examples of that. Marmoush has bucked that trend and it would be astonishing if a player as talented as Florian Wirtz doesn't hit the ground running. As for Ekitike, he will probably need a bit of patience. Prior to last season, he had only reached double figures for goals once before when he scored 10 for his hometown club Stade de Reims in 2021-22. And his time at PSG yielded just three strikes in 33 appearances, 19 of which were off the bench. That said, he has shown he is capable of troubling top opposition, netting against Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Leipzig last season. He left Pedro Porro in his wake on his way to scoring a 20-yarder against Tottenham in April's Europa League quarter-final. And a month before that, he put three past an England Under-21 defence that included Rico Lewis and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. 11 He came through the ranks at French club Reims Credit: Getty IS HE WORTH THE MONEY? At £85m, it is a sizeable gamble and Prem clubs should be wary of the Frankfurt curse. The Eagles have a knack of selling strikers at a massive profit, only for them to struggle at their next club. Luka Jovic (£52m), Sebastien Haller (£42m), Randal Kolo Muani (£77m) and Andre Silva (£20m) definitely fall into the category of transfers where you wished you had kept the receipt. Marmoush's success at City has broken the hoodoo and there is no doubt Ekitike has a higher ceiling than 27-year-old Gyokeres. If clubs can knock the asking price down to the £70m that Sesko is commanding, then Ekitike is maybe the better bet. 11 He's one of the hottest forwards in Europe at the moment Credit: AFP
The Irish Sun
12 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Hugo Ekitike is Thierry Henry-like Arsenal and Man Utd transfer target with symmetrical name who could surpass Gyokeres
HE'S the man with the symmetrical name hoping to become a household name in the English game. 11 Ekitike was born in France but has roots in Cameroon 11 Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle are all reportedly interested in him Credit: Reuters 11 He won Ligue 1 in his time with PSG playing alongside Neymar, Mbappe and Messi Credit: 2023 AMA Sports Photo Agency And the French striker has shown there is far more to him than a surname that reads the same back to front. Following a sensational breakthrough season with Eintracht Frankfurt, Ekitike is rated at £85million and linked with Liverpool, With No 9s in short supply, the 23-year-old has emerged as a genuine alternative to the likes of Not that he is any stranger to these shores having TWICE turned down moves to Newcastle - first in January 2022 and again seven months later. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS Ekitike opted for Paris Saint-Germain instead, stating at the time: "I'm not setting aside everything Newcastle did for me. "If I had to go abroad, I would have gone there. But when PSG wants you and you're French, you can't refuse." As it turned out, Ekitike ran into a Galactico roadblock in the form of Lionel Messi, Neymar and But now he is available again, we've run the rule over the wiry hotshot Messi dubbed 'The Iron Rod'. Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK SO IS HE ANY GOOD? Well, the simple answer is yes. Last season he scored 15 goals and produced eight assists in the Bundesliga, playing 33 of the 34 matches. Throw in another seven goals and four assists in cup competitions, including the Europa League, and you can see why the Premier League's vultures are circling. What really impressed the Frankfurt fans was how he adapted to the loss of Up until then, the pair had been blazing away as a two-man frontline. New footage sees raging Jude Bellingham KICK VAR monitor in frustration after Real Madrid's last-gasp defeat But once Marmoush left for Far from derailing the youngster, he thrived on the lone role, scoring three times in the first two games following Marmoush's exit and maintaining his numbers until the end of the season. WHAT ARE HIS STRENGTHS? Dribbling is probably his main asset. Ekitike has quick feet and an ability to dance past defenders through seemingly impossible gaps with the ball glued to his boots. Right footed, he is technically gifted and has explosive pace. At 6ft 3in, he looks gangly but is in fact deceptively balanced. He also offers versatility. Ekitike can play as a No 9, a second striker, or as a winger. He loves to drop deep to link play and is excellent at running the channels or cutting in from the left flank and shooting. That has prompted comparisons with Thierry Henry, although a fairer likeness would be Isak. Ekitike is also very good at pressing and winning the ball back high up the pitch. 11 Hugo Ekitike enjoyed a impressive season in Germany 11 He's been described by some as a dribbling machine Credit: Getty 11 He's scored 15 goals in 33 appearances for his German club Credit: AFP AND HIS WEAKNESSES? He is still very raw and, despite his success last season, there are improvements to be made. Ekitike can be guilty of a lack of composure in the final third. Last season, he had more shots than anyone in the Bundesliga (117) but managed only a 13 per cent conversion rate. Compare that to the 23 per cent that Harry Kane achieved from his 114 shots and you would be forgiven for painting a picture of wastefulness. However, it has as much to do with decision-making as it does accuracy. Ekitike likes to have a pop from range with 24 per cent of his efforts coming from outside the box, with less chance of beating the keeper. He is stronger than he looks but, even so, there are occasions where he is knocked off the ball too easily. And don't be in a rush to hand him penalty duties. He missed two in the space of a month for Eintracht last season. 11 He's on the radar of a lot of Premier League club Credit: Rex 11 He could play for both France and Cameroon CAN HE HACK IT IN THE PREM? Often players coming from the Bundesliga struggle at first with the superior physicality of the Premier League. Marmoush has bucked that trend and it would be astonishing if a player as talented as As for Ekitike, he will probably need a bit of patience. Prior to last season, he had only reached double figures for goals once before when he scored 10 for his hometown club Stade de Reims in 2021-22. And his time at PSG yielded just three strikes in 33 appearances, 19 of which were off the bench. That said, he has shown he is capable of troubling top opposition, netting against He left And a month before that, he put three past an England Under-21 defence that included Rico Lewis and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. 11 He came through the ranks at French club Reims Credit: Getty IS HE WORTH THE MONEY? At £85m, it is a sizeable gamble and Prem clubs should be wary of the Frankfurt curse. The Eagles have a knack of selling strikers at a massive profit, only for them to struggle at their next club. Marmoush's success at City has broken the hoodoo and there is no doubt Ekitike has a higher ceiling than 27-year-old Gyokeres. If clubs can knock the asking price down to the £70m that Sesko is commanding, then Ekitike is maybe the better bet. 11 He's one of the hottest forwards in Europe at the moment Credit: AFP 11 He could be playing in the Premier League next season Credit: Getty
The Guardian
02-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Speedy set pieces and 20-minute red cards: have rugby's changes worked?
No sport has a more torturous relationship with its law book than rugby union. Mainly because those laws keep mutating, sprouting new clauses and subclauses like a wordy virus. In 2018 matters had reached such a point of impenetrability that World Rugby rewrote the entire book, its plodding 160 pages reduced by 42%. Since 2018, of course, that slimline version has continued mutating, and last week World Rugby updated it again. Some of it was changing terminology: it is now officially the try line, not the goal line; a knock-on is a knock forward; and a word that never existed in the real world anyway, the jackaller, is henceforth to be known as the stealer. But, of the material changes made on the pitch, some still being trialled, what can we say after three rounds of the Six Nations? If there is one thing that preoccupies World Rugby more than a pithy law book, it is that its precious game be fast and fun to watch. To that end, the new law that wards off all evil grapplers of ruck and maul from touching the scrum-half seems to make sense, especially if those No 9s respond by doing something meaningful with the extra time and space. The good guys here are Scotland, France and to an extent Ireland, all of whom have lit up the first three rounds at various points. England, though, have frustrated. Actually quite inventive when they want to be, they have all too often spent the extra grace setting up mind-numbing aerial assaults from the base of scrum, ruck and maul. The old Twickenham boo machine cranked up again last Saturday as Alex Mitchell rained down kicks on Scotland's deadly back three. The jury remains out on any law offering assistance to a particular player. The balance of rugby's contests between attack and defence is delicate indeed. World Rugby loves a quick game, which means the governing body is also paranoid, like so many others, about the real calling card of rugby union, its life and soul: the set pieces. These must now be ready to form within 30 seconds, embarrassments that they are. This seems easy enough for lineouts but there is little clarity on what signifies a scrum being ready to form. If it means on the point of engagement, hardly any are ready within 30 seconds of the mark being made. Crooked put-ins at the scrum, of course, remain unofficially condoned, but now a side can get away with a crooked throw-in at the lineout too, so long as the opposition do not compete with a jumper of their own. Which feels perfectly reasonable. A personal view is that a crooked throw should also pass unpenalised if it is thrown to the opposition's side. Another subject of World Rugby paranoia is time spent by kickers crouching over teed-up balls. Now all conversions must be taken within 60 seconds of the try, instead of the previous 90. But 60 minutes or so studying a random selection of such kicks this week suggests the shot clock does not start until five seconds after the try. With one of the penalties (which already had a 60-second limit) in the Wales-Ireland game, the clock did not start until 15 seconds after the shot had been called. There have been some repercussions here. Fin Smith tried to delay his conversion of England's try at the end of the France game until the clock had turned red, thus denying Les Bleus a restart. He had a window of about two seconds between 80 minutes up and the shot clock running down. Wisely, he chose the safe option and France had one last chance they might not have had under the old system. At the end of the England-Scotland game, though, Finn Russell inexplicably rushed his conversion of Scotland's late try, kicking with a full 15 seconds left on the shot clock. He was also made to take it at least two metres wider out than the try had been scored. His kick missed by about one. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion These are not in the law book, but for the first time the Six Nations public benefits from a chip in the ball. While knowing exactly how far that touch-finder went and where it crossed the touchline is, er, quite interesting, what the sport is crying out for is a chip that can detect when a ball is passed forwards (which is nowhere near as often as those folk who still refuse to accept Newton's first law of motion think it is) and whether a ball has been grounded. England's try against Scotland clearly would not have stood had the latter been available. Countless angry fans moaning about forward passes would be shut up had the former been. Well, it's better than the system it replaced, but to send players off and ban them for accidents is still so wrong. The quicker a sport becomes, the more accidents it will see. Newton might as well have written that as his fourth law, it is so unarguable. Ireland became the first team in the Six Nations to suffer a 20-minute red card when Garry Ringrose was sent off for an accidental clash of heads in the first half of the game against Wales. He has now been banned and offered a place at tackle school, with howls from a multitude of armchairs that he needs to work on his technique. Garry Ringrose, one of the best defensive centres in the world … Brian O'Driscoll, his predecessor as such, ruefully observed: 'In the modern game, everyone is going to get sent off.' What a desperate place for a sport to find itself in.
