Virgil van Dijk reveals the first thing he said to Liverpool signing Hugo Ekitike | Football

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk got straight down to business upon meeting new signing Hugo Ekitike, telling the forward ‘the hard work starts now’.

The Premier League champions have been busy in the summer transfer market, with club bosses determined to build on the success of last season by bolstering Arne Slot’s squad in several areas.

On Wednesday evening, the Reds announced that they had reached an agreement to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ekitike, 23, on the back of the striker’s eye-catching season in Bundesliga football.

It’s understood Liverpool agreed a fee in the region of £69million – plus £10m in add-ons – with Eintracht and there were no issues as Ekitike flew to England to complete a medical.

Ekitike became Liverpool’s fifth first-team addition of the window, following Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Florian Wirtz through the doors at Anfield.

Despite Ekitike’s arrival, the Merseyside giants remain in the hunt for Alexander Isak, who this week informed Newcastle of his desire to explore possible opportunities away from St James’ Park.

Liverpool fans got the chance to see Ekitike in their colours for the first time on Thursday as the Frenchman met up with his new team-mates on their pre-season tour of Asia.

After he was pictured putting an arm around Ekitike at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium, ahead of Liverpool’s friendly with AC Milan, Van Dijk revealed exactly what he said to the attacker.

‘He’s just flown in. I’ll probably fine him for wearing the wrong kit!’ the Netherlands defender joked.

‘Listen, it’s good to have him here. I said to him, “The hard work starts now”.

‘He has to work his socks off and be important for us whenever he can. That’s the message.’

Van Dijk has been encouraged by Liverpool’s recruitment and believes the likes of Ekitike, Frimpong and Wirtz would not have been added to the squad if they lacked the necessary qualities.

The Dutchman added: ‘I think they will definitely have the quality to play for Liverpool.

‘For me, it’s very important how the settle into the group and how they fit into the squad we have and I think they do perfectly well, all of them.

‘Armin [Pecsi], the young goalkeeper, just came from out of nowhere and he’s settled in pretty well.

‘Obviously, Freddie [Woodman], Giorgi [Mamardashvili], Hugo came today, of course.

‘Everyone has to work hard and we’re all in this together. That’s the main thing, we stick together no matter what.’

According to Van Dijk, Liverpool can ill afford to rest on their laurels heading into the new season considering their rivals have also spent big money on strengthening across the summer.

‘We all start from scratch this season. I think everyone has tried to improve their teams and us as well,’ the Liverpool skipper added.

‘I think we’ve made great additions to the team so far. Let’s see what happens for the rest of the transfer window.

‘It’s all down to hard work and showing our quality and consistency. We know how difficult that is so we must focus on ourselves and the hard work has already begun.

‘We work so hard in training, double sessions in the heat and humidity. But it’s good to be here and seeing so many fans. We really appreciate it.’

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