Meet the NEXT Hugo Ekitike who Liverpool have to sign

Liverpool's modern tradition is to have very specific forwards.

In order to succeed as a no.9 at Anfield you have to be more than just a goal-scorer. You have be brilliant in the link-up, you have to create and score goals. You have to entertain.

This is the tradition that Hugo Ekitike is carrying on at Liverpool. But this was a tradition started by the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino.

All of those players were more than just goal-scorers. They were technically brilliant, who could take defenders on in one vs one situations and just cause problems even outside of the opposition's penalty area.

These are the type of forwards who shine at Liverpool. Admittedly, they are also rare unicorns in the world of football. Most strikers fit into one category, whether that is a target man, poacher or a false nine. The very best are those who can combine all of these roles.

Ekitike is one of these players. And there's another young forward breaking out in European football who is very similar.

Let us introduce you to 21-year-old Uruguayan forward Alvaro Rodriguez, who plays for Elche in La Liga.

He may only have three goals and four assists in just over 1000 minutes played for his team but make no mistake about it, Rodriguez is one of the most fascinating forwards in all of Europe right now.

He is a long limbed striker who stands at 1.93 metres, yet he's very technically gifted and loves to take defenders on. Take his recent game against Sevilla as an example where he attempted eight dribbles and completed five of his attempts.

Those are elite winger numbers.

On average this season, he has attempted 2.62 dribbles and completed 57.6% of his attempts.

For successful take-ons among his positional peers he ranks in the 97th percentile.

This is where Rodriguez becomes a player who is simply not normal. Because he also uses his height to his advantage. He is a massive aerial threat.

Among his positional peers he ranks in the 99th percentile for aerial duels won. He wins 6.79 aerial duels per 90 minutes in La Liga this season.

He's very good at being a threat inside the box and also outside the box picking up goal-kicks and long balls over the top and holding the ball up for his teammates.

When you're looking at Rodriguez he comes across as the perfect package, and the underlying numbers are encouraging about his output, too.

He has averaged 0.53 xG per 90 minutes in La Liga this season, which is a massive underperformance. It's similar to Ekitike at Frankfurt, and taking a look at the eye test you can see that a lot of these finishes Rodriguez has been unlucky not to score rather than it being a poor finish.

So, you could expect him to be a lot more prolific very soon. In a better side like Liverpool those numbers could grow even more.

We've had a lot of success with Uruguayan forwards over the years. It's becoming clear that Liverpool probably need a third no.9 option behind Ekitike and Isak and Rodriguez is the perfect option.

Looking at his profile, he is the player Richard Hughes absolutely has to sign.

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