Deschamps Delivers Blunt Reality Check to Snubbed Star Ekitike After France Squad Omission

Didier Deschamps heaped praise on Hugo Ekitiké following his explosive beginning at Liverpool, though he cautioned that France already possesses numerous attacking alternatives after excluding the prolific striker from his national team selection.

Ekitiké has displayed exceptional form for Liverpool following his £79 million ($106.2 million) transfer to Merseyside from Eintracht Frankfurt in July.

The 23-year-old required merely 228 seconds to net his inaugural goal in the Community Shield clash against Crystal Palace. Ekitiké also scored against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, establishing himself as the first Liverpool player to find the back of the net in each of his initial three club appearances since Daniel Sturridge in 2013.

This impressive run failed to sway Deschamps. The veteran France national team boss has yet to award Ekitiké a call-up and maintained his stance on the exclusion this week.

"Hugo, given his performances last season and at Liverpool, we were already monitoring him at Frankfurt," Deschamps acknowledged. "Good for him. It's excellent that he's productive, but there's fierce competition. I won't accumulate players, though he possesses the qualities for the French national team."

Real Madrid sensation Kylian Mbappé serves as France's captain and unquestioned first-choice striker. Inter attacker Marcus Thuram, son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian who played alongside Deschamps, represents another preferred option capable of playing wide or centrally.

Paris Saint-Germain's versatile attacking trio of Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola all secured selection alongside Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, Manchester City newcomer Rayan Cherki and, most surprisingly, Monaco's Maghnès Akliouche. Similar to Ekitiké, Akliouche has never earned a senior international cap but received the call for September's World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland.

Defending his choice, Deschamps stated: "Maghnès Akliouche operates more as a winger. He enjoyed a solid campaign with Monaco, he can enhance his clinical finishing, but he's producing intriguing performances."

Liverpool boss Arne Slot likely won't be overly concerned about his key striker being omitted. While other Reds players travel worldwide during the international break, Ekitiké can recuperate at home and focus on extending his goalscoring form at club level.