Hugo Ekitike has said he is “hungry for more” after scoring his 12th goal of the season in Liverpool‘s 6-0 victory over Qarabag FK.
Arne Slot’s side cruised into the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Ekitike among the standout performers.
The France international has been a revelation since joining the club for an initial £69 million ($92.7m) from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer and is the Reds’ top scorer this term.
However, he is confident he can still improve his record and has backed Liverpool to turn their disappointing season around.
“I would say good,” Ekitike said when asked to assess his start to life at Anfield.
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“Obviously I could do better, I could do worse. I’m pretty happy. The most important thing was to set up outside of the pitch with my teammates, that’s a big thing. Everything I do outside with my teammates, training, I think I’ve settled in well and that helps me to perform so I would say I’m happy but I’m hungry for more and I expect more from myself so I have to keep working,” he said.
“Obviously, when you see the last game in Bournemouth, but what I can say is everyone gave 100% of themselves. Like every team we have to go through something but we stick together and hopefully it will go better. We have the quality, I really believe things will go well.”
Ekitike has quickly become a fan favourite on Merseyside and was given a standing ovation at Anfield when he was substituted in the second half on Wednesday night.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I play for fans, they give me so much energy. Sometimes in games when I haven’t scored you hear your name from the crowd and it’s a great feeling. It was what I was dreaming of as a kid and it made me live that so I’m grateful and I want to give more to them to make them happy.”
Ekitike had been linked with a transfer to Newcastle United in the summer before Liverpool made their move.
The 23-year-old admitted he is braced for a hostile reception from the away fans when Newcastle visit Merseyside in the Premier League this weekend but said he is happy he made the decision to join Slot’s side.
“Obviously we were close [to joining Newcastle] but I made my choice,” he said. “I knew where I wanted to come so that’s all I can give to you.
“I don’t care [about the reception from Newcastle fans]. I play for Liverpool, I have my fans here, we played there [Newcastle] already and won so hopefully we will have a great week of working. I don’t care about this, I just want to play and help the team. Simple.”
