"This kid is mustard - he’s the real deal" - Troy Deeney heaps praises on 'underrated' Liverpool star

Pundit Troy Deeney has lavished praise on Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike following his impressive start to life at Anfield. The Frenchman has done incredibly well for Arne Slot's side following his reported £69 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.

While Liverpool have struggled for any kind of consistency this season, Ekitike has been a shining light for them. He has scored ten goals and provided one assist in 23 appearances across competitions for the reigning Premier League champions.

Troy Deeney has labelled the 23-year-old as the most underrated striker in the Premier League. He has also tipped the former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker to push Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot. Deeney said, as quoted by Metro:

"The most underrated striker in the Premier League. Two goals in back-to-back games. The kid scores. He comes off after 70 minutes for Alexander Isak. Fantastic signing. He will be pushing Erling Haaland all the way for most goals."

Deeney has also backed Ekitike to play a key role for France in the World Cup alongside Kylian Mbappe. He added:

"This kid is mustard – he’s the real deal. Another one who will be looking at the World Cup and thinking he’s got to go – he can play off the left-hand side with Kylian Mbappe for France."

Despite Ekitike's impressive form, Liverpool have been disappointing this season and are seventh in the table. They are ten points behind league leaders Arsenal and are pretty much out of the title race already.

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Michael Owen predicts Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool

Michael Owen has backed Mohamed Salah to stay at Liverpool beyond the January transfer window. The former England striker has claimed that the reception Salah received during the Brighton game would convince him to stay. Owen said, via Metro:

"There was a little bit of a question mark whether he was going to get that real good reception from the fans because a lot of people were taking the side of Arne Slot. Not that he was against him, it wasn’t a duel, but it was Mo Salah against the club in many ways, wasn’t it? And they were obviously taking the side of the club."

He added:

"I thought there might be a few jeers, a few boos, but there was none of it today and he’ll be delighted with that as well. All that he’s done for the club, it would be awful to finish his career at Liverpool getting booed off, but that never happened. And hopefully that was, 'I’ll see you in a month or so because I’m off to represent my country', and normal service has resumed. Hopefully, it’s not a, 'goodbye, I’m going and I’m going for good'."

Salah's future at Liverpool seemed up in the air following his explosive interview after a 3-3 draw against Leeds United. He was left out of the matchday squad entirely against Inter Milan but made a comeback in the 2-0 win against Brighton last weekend.