Ekitike And Isak Hold The Key To Iraola’s Liverpool Success

BusinessSportsMoneyEkitike And Isak Hold The Key To Iraola’s Liverpool SuccessByGraham Ruthven,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I am a soccer writer based in the United KingdomFollow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 10:12pm EDTLIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Getty ImagesAndoni Iraola has a lot to consider before the start of the 2026/27 season. Now Liverpool manager following his appointment by the Anfield club, Iraola has been trusted with imposing a new identity on a team that lost one over the course of the 2025/26 campaign under Arne Slot. He will face a number of challenges. Liverpool’s squad is talented, but it’s unbalanced. While the Merseyside outfit spent over $250m signing a number of elite-level players last summer, not many of them fit into Slot’s team. This is where Iraola must offer something different. The Spaniard needs to think about the overall set-up of his team.First and foremost, he must envisage how Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak could play together in the attacking third. Both strikers joined Liverpool last summer, but experienced contrasting fortunes in their first season there. While Ekitike flourished, Isak struggled for any sort of form and fitness. LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Andoni Iraola new manager of Liverpool Football Club at Anfield on June 04, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesThat Liverpool spent so much money on two forwards who play the position in a similar way in the same transfer window was confusing from the start. The Reds needed a new number nine, but Ekitike and Isak appeared incompatible as a pairing in Slot’s 4-2-3-1 system. There was never any sign of a...