Hugo Ekitike has given Alexander Isak the blueprint on how to handle the reception he will receive when returning to Newcastle. Liverpool travel to St James' Park on Sunday for their Premier League season-opener, with the Swede expected to lead the line.
It will be the first time Isak, 26, returns to his former club since leaving in a club-record £125million transfer last September. The drawn-out saga of Isak's departure led to bad blood between him and the fans, despite previously possessing hero status in the North East.
Ekitike's blueprint for handling the boos
It will be a cauldron of noise on Sunday afternoon, but it is an atmosphere Ekitike handled with aplomb last season. While the Frenchman will not feature this weekend because of injury, he had quite the impact in his first appearance at St James' Park as a Liverpool player.
Ekitike, 23, received a poor reception from the home fans after turning down Newcastle last summer in order to join Liverpool in a £79m deal. The booing from the crowd did not deter him one bit, as he scored in the 3-2 win that was sealed by Rio Ngumoha's 100th-minute winner.
'I don't care'
The France international was asked about the potential boos he would face from the Newcastle fans in the reverse fixture at Anfield in January earlier this year. Unbothered by the possibility, Ekitike answered: "I don't care."
He added: "I play for Liverpool, I have my fans here, we played there (Newcastle) already and won so hopefully we will have a great week of working. I don't care about this, I just want to play and help the team. It is simple."
"Obviously we were close [to a Newcastle move] but I made my choice, I knew where I wanted to come so that's all I can give to you. [The fans' support] means a lot. I play for fans, they give me so much energy."
Isak's return to form
Ekitike received jeers from the away end, but he had the last laugh as his brace fired the Reds to a 4-1 win to complete the double over the Magpies. While Isak is expected to receive a harsher reception given his association with the club, he would do well to heed his team-mate's words.
The striker endured an injury-hit campaign last season, scoring just four goals in 22 games across all competitions. However, he was fit for Sweden's World Cup campaign and consistently played in pre-season to set up what fans will hope to be a return to form.
