News'I knew Hugo's quality but he has been so good so quick'

French forward Ekitike joined the Reds from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer and has scored five times in his 10 appearances so far.

The No.22's form has also earned him his first senior international recognition with France.

Cisse, a 2005 Champions League winner during his own time as part of Liverpool's attack, is enthused by what Ekitike is already producing.

"He brings goals," Cisse told Get French Football News. "He can score goals. He showed it in Germany, and he's shown it at Liverpool when he arrived.

"I was a little scared that he wasn't going to play much, but I was wrong. He's playing, he's doing good, he's scoring goals. He's bringing different options to Mo Salah and Alexander Isak.

"He's a really good player. I know him from France. I knew he had the quality to perform, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting him to be that good that quick."

Alexander Isak, of course, also bolstered Liverpool's front line during the summer as he signed for the reigning Premier League champions from Newcastle United.

And Cisse considers it only a positive for Arne Slot to have multiple options to rely upon.

"I think if Ekitike stays at this level and continues to score goals when he has the chance to play, then it's going to be difficult for the manager to choose, but that's football, that's the beauty of football. The season is long," he said.

Cisse added: "You need all your strikers at the top for the entire season, and it's a good thing to have strikers who score goals."