Hugo can be leading man in Frankfurt with Isak still finding his feet

ARNE SLOT and the Liverpool coaching staff would have had it all mapped out.

- By IAN DOYLE

As the earlier arrival of the summer, Hugo Ekitike would begin his adaptation and lead the line for the opening weeks to ease the pressure on later signing Alexander Isak, before the £125million Sweden international assumes the mantle and his new teammate becomes a versatile forward option.

Football, though, rarely goes to plan. And while Ekitike ensured the first box was ticked with his impressive start to the campaign, the subsequent lack of impact from Isak has handed Slot another quandary during a testing opening that continues to cough up many.

So as Ekitike returns to his former stomping ground of Eintracht Frankfurt in Liverpool's latest Champions League assignment this evening, the evidence suggests the France international should be the man up front for the Reds.

Of course, there won't be much surprise should Ekitike start at the Deutsche Bank Park having spent 18 months there before switching to Anfield in a potential £79m deal.