Troy Deeney lavishes praise on 'underrated' Liverpool player, his name is...

Expert Troy Deeney has praised Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike after his amazing performances. The Frenchman has done really well for Arne Slot's team after his reported £69 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.

While Liverpool have struggled for consistency this season, Ekitike has been a positive for them. He has amassed ten goals and given one assist in 23 games across all competitions for the reigning Premier League champions.

Troy Deeney has called 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 backed Ekitike to play a pivotal 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 pathetic this season and are placed seventh in the standings. They are ten points behind league leaders Arsenal and are pretty much out of the title race already.

Michael Owen predicts Mohamed Salah's future

Michael Owen has supported Michael Salah to stay at Liverpool beyond the January transfer window. The former England forward has claimed that the reception Salah got during the game against Brighton would make him 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 after his explosive interview following a 3-3 draw against Leeds United. He was left out of the matchday squad entirely against Inter Milan but made a return in the 2-0 win against Brighton last weekend.