The latest international break may have come as a welcome lift for Hugo Ekitike who continues to gain confidence away from Anfield.Ekitike praised by Deschamps after France victory(Photo by Aziz Karimov/Getty Images)Hugo Ekitike featured again for France during their 3-1 win over Azerbaijan and, although he only registered one shot, Didier Deschamps still highlighted the Liverpool forward’s growing contribution.The France manager said the 23-year-old “demonstrated his potential through dynamic play and speed” while operating on the left wing, recognising his ability to cover ground effectively (via mykhel.com).We have been searching for sharper movement and more aggression in the final third, especially after the 3-0 loss at Manchester City – a match where we failed to record a shot on target until the 76th minute.Seeing our No.22 backed publicly by Deschamps comes after what we saw earlier in the week when the striker scored his first goal for his nation.It was this performance, described by L’Equipe as the most impactful of his young France career, that led to our striker saying: “It’s a childhood dream” to score for Les Bleus.Ekitike can now return to Merseyside with renewed confidence that could spill into our domestic campaign.Why Ekitike’s form matters for Liverpool(Photo by Aziz Karimov/Getty Images)Our boss now faces a decision on how to use a forward who is clearly growing game by game.Even Deschamps noted that France’s depth is being strengthened by players like Ekitike, with the national coach recognising that his “growing confidence” is adding variety to their attacking structure.The Paris-born attacker played off the left for his nation, something we could see replicated for the Reds – with Alexander Isak being deployed centrally when fit.Until then, we have a forward whose confidence is soaring, and who is performing at international level, and this only strengthens our ability to stretch teams again.As we move into a run of fixtures that could define our title defence, seeing a Liverpool forward earning praise from Deschamps feels like timely encouragement.Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobileThe post Deschamps verdict on Ekitike sparks fresh hope after difficult league run appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.