Arne Slot's telling phone call with Ekitike as £150m Isak deal on the cards

Hugo Ekitike has been reassured over his role at Liverpool, with the club believing the French forward has the potential to follow the footsteps of Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe

Arne Slot has told Hugo Ekitike where he will fit in at Liverpool, regardless of Alexander Isak's potential move to Anfield. The Reds continued their summer spending spree by signing Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal that could rise to £79m.

Despite not yet being capped by France at senior level, Ekitike ticks all the boxes of what the champions want from a young striker. The club's analysts have seen enough to suggest they have a future Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe on their hands, reports The Athletic, with the 23-year-old's transfer value expected to balloon.

Liverpool have parted with an initial £69m for Ekitike, but that fee could be dwarfed if they manage to get their hands on Isak. The Swedish striker has told Newcastle he wants to explore a move away from the club. The Reds are at the front of the queue for Isak, who will not be part of Newcastle's pre-season tour to Asia.

According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool may need to pay around £150m to prise him away from the Magpies and would sell to finance such a deal. If Isak does arrive, it's fair to assume he would play through the middle as an out-and-out number nine.

That would place question marks over Ekitike's role in the team, with the Frenchman potentially shunted into another role. However, in a telling phone call with Ekitike prior to his arrival, Slot outlined where he sees him fitting into his side.

And that is as a number nine with the ability to drop deeper and link play when required. Therefore, if Isak arrives, Ekitike may have to settle for a bit-part role initially.

Given the Reds' fixture demands both domestically and in European competition, he could still secure ample game time before applying pressure to Isak to be the club's first-choice central striker. It would be a headache of the right kind for Slot.

Meanwhile, as the Isak transfer saga continues, Ekitike has linked up with his new team-mates in Hong Kong. The finalities of a six-year contract were announced on Wednesday evening, by which time he was already on a plane to the Far East.

He arrived in time to watch the squad's open training at the Kai Tak Stadium in front of a crowd of 27,000. It is unclear whether Ekitike will be involved in the first match of Liverpool’s tour against AC Milan on Saturday.

He joins Florian Wirtz, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in an initial £100m deal that could rise to £116m. Jeremie Frimpong also joined from the German club in a £29.5m switch, while Milos Kerkez left Bournemouth for £40m.