FEATURE | Hugo Ekitiké: From PSG’s bench to Bundesliga renaissance

When Hugo Ekitiké first appeared on the professional football stage, the young Frenchman was a diamond in the rough plying his trade for Stade de Reims in Ligue 1. After a season that saw the young striker score 11 goals and provide four assists across 26 senior appearances, Paris Saint-Germain snapped Ekitiké up in 2022, initially on loan; a deal that was made permanent in the summer of 2023.

What would follow after he joined PSG would put a damper on Ekitiké’s development. Joining a club of that size so quickly, with the level of depth they possessed did very little to allow him to flourish. Since then, like many former PSG players before him, Ekitiké has made a home for himself in the Bundesliga. In his case, this home is now Eintracht Frankfurt.

Frankfurt made their initial loan deal for Ekitiké last season a permanent one this past summer, and the player has once again begun to flourish under the tutelage of Dino Toppmöller. Paired up front with the imperious Omar Marmoush, Ekitiké already has six goals and three assists to his name across 13 appearances for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga and Europa League combined.

Ekitiké’s renaissance is in no small part thanks to quite a few factors that only a club like Frankfurt makes possible, which shouldn’t make his on-field rehabilitation a massive surprise. Alongside Frankfurt’s role in this, it was also Ekitiké’s will to take a step away from a club like PSG that gave him the chance to turn his career around.

Stepping out of Kylian Mbappé’s shadow

When one thinks of Paris Saint-Germain at the time that Ekitiké signed for them, three things in particular come to mind: exemplary youth talent production, vast transfer fees for talented players, and Kylian Mbappé. In PSG’s case, these three things didn’t always gel well, especially in terms of player integration. Talented players such as Moussa Diaby, Christopher Nkunku and Kingsley Coman are but a drop in the bucket of top prospects that have left PSG for pastures new and went on to find success in other leagues, particularly the Bundesliga.

While Ekitiké wasn’t an academy product, he was yet another talented player that was always going to find it difficult to get minutes, especially with the attacking firepower that PSG possessed. After half a season at the club, it was clear to everyone watching that Ekitiké would not be benching Mbappé, and it underlined just how much of a stumbling block this move was for Ekitiké’s development.

Moving to Frankfurt first and foremost gave him a platform where he could perform and play consistently. This consistency allowed him to gain the confidence that his lack of game-time drained him of prior to the move and allowed him to start to develop into the player we are seeing do so well in the Bundesliga today.

Frankfurt’s history of nurturing young players and jumpstarting careers

Over the course of the last decade in particular, Frankfurt has been known as a club that loves to nurture young, talented players, and has proven time and time again to be a great springboard for some exciting attacking talent over the years. Randal Kolo Muani, Sébastien Haller, and Luka Jović, just to name a few, all received lucrative offers from top clubs after excelling in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt have also done an immense job of giving established players the platform to revive their careers and become an important part of their project. The list of names is extensive, with the likes of Mario Götze, Sebastian Rode and Robin Koch just a sampling of those who seemed to lose their way at other clubs, and then found a new home in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt’s record in both departments means that they often have a well-balanced environment of youth and experience in the squad, a factor which has likely worked in Ekitiké’s favour. Through their experiences, a player such as Götze, once hailed as Germany’s biggest “wunderkind”, can give someone like Ekitiké a tempered perspective that can help younger players better manage expectations and navigate the next steps in their careers.

It is likely that we can expect Ekitiké to make the jump from Frankfurt to a bigger club at some point, but with his own experience at PSG behind him, as well as the experiences of his teammates to draw from, the hope would be that he takes his time before making the jump again, and takes advantage of the opportunity Frankfurt is giving him to play at a high level in a lower-pressure environment before he decides on his next career move.

Dino Toppmöller & Frankfurt’s syste

Pivoting now to the nitty gritty and tactical aspect of why Ekitiké has been such as success at Frankfurt, one could very easily point to the system that Dino Toppmöller employs at Frankfurt; a system that just happens to fit Ekitiké’s skillset like a glove. Partnered up top with the very much in form Omar Marmoush, Ekitiké has been able to play in a front two reminiscent of his time at Reims, which is when he first showed his ability to be an exciting player.

Under then Reims head coach Óscar García, like at Frankfurt, Ekitiké had the trust of a coach and club that wanted to focus on developing exciting youth players. The focus on elevating youth was critical, and something García noted that he took pride in, especially in Ekitiké’s case:

“I like to develop young players but, not only that, I want to be really competitive. You can develop players but maybe you’re not always so competitive. Here we’re trying to do both things at the same time. Sometimes it’s not easy but, last season, for example, we had the case of Hugo Ekitike – the most expensive sale in the history of the club. That makes us proud because we helped him reach another level.”

In the very same interview, García was very clear on what Ekitiké’s strengths were during his time with the club, and what sort of environment he would flourish in:

“He’s an offensive player who doesn’t like to work as a pure No 9, but prefers to be mobile. He’s tall and slim but very coordinated and he’s great with his feet. He’s not so strong with his head – that’s a point he has to improve on – but, with the right coach, he can keep improving and show his potential.”

Reims, and García in extension, realised that Ekitiké did not have the profile of an out and out striker, which is why playing him off of a strike partner allows him to take advantage of his strengths, i.e. being mobile and direct player on the pitch, something that Toppmöller’s system at Frankfurt has focused on, especially this season. With Frankfurt often aiming to win the ball high up the pitch and hit on the counter with the goal of exploiting the space in behind the opposition, direct players that have pace and good with their feet are critical in pulling this off. Frankfurt have been one of the best counter-attacking sides in the league this season, and the 4-4-2 they set up under Toppmöller has made them a very dangerous opponent for any team in the league.

Ekitiké’s numbers clearly back up his ability to perform in this environment. With 0.29 assists, 3.61 shot creating actions, 2.5 success take-ons and 2.74 progressive carries per 90, per FBRef, these stats underline Ekitiké’s ability to get forward, take on his man, and create dangerous opportunities for his side to capitalise on, even if he isn’t the one scoring. This also highlights the versatile nature of his play and why he works so well in a front two; Ekitiké thrives when he is not the centerpiece of the attack, but a more fluid aspect of it.

There’s still a long way to go this season, but Frankfurt currently sit third in the table at the time of writing. Frankfurt, and in extension Ekitiké, has the chance to really set a new standard for the club and what they are capable of achieving. If they continue on this trajectory, it is likely there will be no shortage of suitors for Ekitiké come the summer.

Based on what the player has shown for the club, and the sort of environment they provide, Ekitiké could certainly use a couple more years in the Bundesliga to really hone his skills while playing an important role for a team on the rise. At just 22, he has his whole career ahead of him to join the PSG’s of the world. For now, under the wings of Die Adler, Ekitiké can continue his development in a place where he will have opportunities to shine, instead of waiting in the wings for chances that clubs in higher pressure environments may not readily be able to offer him at this critical point in his career.

GGFN | Brian Szlenk