Overview
- Ibrahima Konaté recounted telling Hugo Ekitiké, “Do you want to go to the France team or not?”, prompting the striker to head straight to the gym.
- Ekitiké is Liverpool’s early top scorer with six goals across competitions after a summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt reported at €95m.
- His club form earned a first senior France call-up in September; he now has four caps and made his first start in October, assisting against Azerbaijan.
- Both players are in Didier Deschamps’ squad for this window, with France hosting Ukraine on Thursday in a qualifier that could secure their place at next summer’s World Cup.
- Konaté praised Ekitiké as very diligent and said he has no doubt the 23-year-old will continue to progress for club and country.