Hugo Ekitike admits big change since joining Liverpool and reveals boyhood Reds hero

Ekitike

Hugo Ekitike has paid tribute to Ibrahima Konate for helping him settle in at Liverpool.

The Frenchman joined the Reds in a deal worth up to £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, and has enjoyed an explosive start to life at Anfield.

The 23-year-old scored in each of his first three appearances for the club, and has returned three goals and an assist in his first six outings for Liverpool.

And the striker has revealed his fellow France international's role in helping him quickly find his feet, as he shared his pride at playing for the Reds

Ekitike

"I think the most important person when I came here was Ibou to be honest,"

"Now, he's been at the club for four years.

"He knows everything here and the people. He helped me a lot with everything off the pitch and on the pitch.

"The other players helped me more with play on the football pitch, like connections and links to find my position here. But Ibou has been really important for me here.

"I'm proud (to be here). I'm very proud.

"When you know where I come from, obviously it's a great feeling for me and my family.

"The intensity is high here, on the ball and off the ball. I work way more in the gym than before, here with the athletic coaches.

"In terms of pure football, I just play my football. I have good players around me so they make that easy.

"I want to keep going, keep doing things for the club and have success. I didn't know the fans of Liverpool, the fan-base was huge like that. But it's really good and I feel like they like me.

"They show me a lot of love and I just want to give them back. When a player plays with confidence, he can do great.

"It's also because the other players helped me to settle in the team, at the training ground, I found my house quickly.

"All these things helped me to just think about football and just be focused on my job on the pitch so I can do great."

Ekitike is expected to lead the line in his first Merseyside derby on Saturday as Liverpool welcome Everton to Anfield.

The Frenchman admitted he has been watching old clips of derby matches on YouTube in preparation for the game, and understands that the Reds need to be 'ready for war' against their Merseyside neighbours.

Ekitike

"I can't lie, I've just watched some videos on YouTube and people were just kicking each other, so you know it's dangerous games!"

"It's exciting because when I came here, they told me about straightaway about the Merseyside derby,

“Liverpool against Everton is really important here.

"I know it's the kind of game you need to be ready mentally. You go there to win.

“You play this game to win, we have to win against them, but it's going to be a tough game.

"We need to be ready for this war on Saturday. It's going to be a tough, tough game but I think we are going to be ready."

Meanwhile, Ekitike also revealed that former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was one of his boyhood heroes - along with two Manchester United legends.

"I really like... Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player I watched," he said. "Rooney, Torres. You know those kind of those players. They are the people I used to watch."

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