France’s Ligue 1 is the self-styled ‘league of talents’ for good reason — in addition to importing plenty of the best talent from outside of Europe’s top-five leagues, acting as something of a gateway to Europe’s elite, with players like Rennes’ Kamaldeen Sulemana, Lille’s Jonathan David, PSG’s Nuno Mendes and Nice’s Calvin Stengs falling into that category at present, many Ligue 1 sides boast a stellar track record of producing their own stars via their academy.
France’s thriving academy systems have been significant contributors to the country’s impressive international performances over the past decade.
One of the players whos burst onto the scene in France’s top-flight this term, following in the footsteps of the likes of Arsenal’s William Saliba (currently back in France on loan at Marseille) and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga — both of whom debuted in Ligue 1 having come through their team’s academy system as teenagers in recent seasons — is Stade de Reims’ 19-year-old right-footed attacker, Hugo Ekitike (190cm / 6’3”).
Before the 2021/22 campaign, Ekitike had made two Ligue 1 appearances, totalling less than 90 minutes in France’s top-flight overall.
However, while he “started the season as a fourth striker”, according to his club’s manager Óscar García, Ekitike has quickly made himself a key man for Reims — playing a full 90 minutes in each of Les Rouges et Blancs last two top-flight fixtures.
Having featured in 16 of his side’s 18 Ligue 1 games so far this term (getting 846 minutes), Ekitike is currently Reims’ highest goalscorer with seven — five more than his team’s second-highest goalscorer.
At present, per Understat, the 19-year-old has the ninth-best non-penalty xG per 90 + xA per 90 (0.66) of any Ligue 1 player with more than 400 minutes to their name this term, with Ekitike trailing the established likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Burak Yılmaz, Jonathan David, Andy Delort and Gaëtan Laborde in that list.
So he’s not in bad company.
Given Ekitike’s inspired start to the 2021/22 campaign, it perhaps comes as no big surprise that he’s starting to attract a lot of media attention.
Julien Laurens recently described him as a “revelation.”
Of course, in Ligue 1, there is a reasonably bright spotlight on young stars such as Ekitike, and the level of attention and admiration, though warranted based on his performances in the first half of the season, can be over-the-top and counterproductive for a young player.
Talent and consistency got him to the dance, and continuing that consistency will ultimately play a key role in keeping him there.
That said, Ekitike’s been one of the brightest emerging stars in France’s top-flight this term.
In this tactical analysis and scout report, I aim to dissect the teenager’s role within Reims’ strategy and tactics while analysing his main strengths and weaknesses.
I hope this scout report paints a clearer picture, amid growing media attention, of what Ekitike is, what he isn’t, what he’s thriving at, and where he has much more room for improvement.
Hugo Ekitike Attacking movement
Ekitike’s been very efficient with his shooting this season.
The Reims attacker hasn’t performed as a very high-volume shooter; his 1.94 shots per 90 don’t rank him very high for shots among Ligue 1 attackers (centre-forwards and wide forwards) this term, but he’s managed to maintain a 64.71% shot accuracy rate, which ranks joint-fifth-best among Ligue 1 attackers.
This level of shot accuracy has enabled him to reach this point in the season with the most non-penalty goals per 90 (0.68) of any Ligue 1 attacker with 400 or more minutes to his name and to manage a shot conversion rate of 41.176% (second only to Wissam Ben Yedder).
At this point, it is worth noting that sample size is crucial here.
While we’re almost at the midway point of the season, given that he’s such an unknown at this level, we might have twice as much information in a few months and will be able to make better assessments then.
The purpose of this tactical analysis isn’t to suggest that Ekitike is a guaranteed superstar in the making, nor is it to indicate that he isn’t, but rather to focus on how and why the relative unknown has been on fire this term.
While he’s taken his chances very well, what’s been even more impressive than his finishing in his campaign in front of goal has been his stellar off-the-ball movement and ability to put himself in the best positions to consistently get high-quality shots off.
Again, Ekitike’s not a high-volume shooter, but many of his shots this term have been taken from excellent positions, which has helped his shots-on-target percentage and conversion rate remain at their current heights.
Figure 1 shows Ekitike’s heatmap for the 2021/22 season so far.
It’s worth noting that while he’s primarily played as a centre-forward, he tends to drift around a lot, frequently occupying the left-wing position and appearing on the right-wing, too.
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