French national team boss Didier Deschamps hailed Hugo Ekitike’s impressive start at Liverpool but stood by his decision to leave the striker out of his latest France squad, citing the wealth of attacking options at his disposal.
Ekitike has hit the ground running since completing a £79 million ($106.2 million) move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Merseyside in July. The 23-year-old wasted no time making an impact, scoring on his debut in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace.
He followed that up with goals against Bournemouth and Newcastle, becoming the first Liverpool player to score in each of his first three appearances since Daniel Sturridge in 2013. However, this blistering run of form was not enough to earn him a call to the national team and Deschamps has revealed why.
“Hugo, because of what he did last season and at Liverpool, we were already following him at Frankfurt,” Deschamps admitted. “Good for him. It’s great that he’s effective, but there’s competition. I’m not going to pile up players, but he has the potential for the French team.”
This latest snub means the Liverpool forward will continue his wait for a first call-up to the French national team despite enjoying sensational goalscoring form since his time at RB Leipzig and now in the Premier League.
Les Blue’s attack will be led by Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe while Inter’s Marcus Thuram, is another key option, capable of playing both centrally and out wide. The squad also features PSG trio Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola along with Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and Manchester City’s new signing Rayan Cherki.
The most surprising inclusion is Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche, who, like Ekitike, is yet to make his senior international debut but has been called up for the September World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland.
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