Hugo Ekitike will be given further time to adjust to life at Liverpool after his omission from the France squad for two World Cup qualifiers next month.Ekitike has made a smooth transition to a key role under Arne Slot following his £79 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt.The 23-year-old has now scored in each of his three appearances, swiftly establishing himself as one of the most impressive strikers in the Premier League.But having only completed his move at the end of July before immediately flying out to join his teammates on the pre-season tour of Asia, there will be aspects of his life that remain unsettled.While his absence from Didier Deschamps’ squad may be a blow on a professional level, it could provide a useful break outside of work.That may include settling into permanent accommodation and finding his feet in the area, with a similar omission benefiting Ryan Gravenberch when he joined from Bayern Munich in 2023.Deschamps instead has Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Thuram as his options up front for next month’s clashes with Ukraine (Sept 5) and Iceland (Sept 9), with attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche a first-time call-up.Ibrahima Konate has made the squad and is likely to start both of those World Cup qualifiers having now established himself as first choice.There have been suggestions that Ekitike could now consider switching international allegiances to Cameroon, but there is no indication this will be the case yet.Liverpool’s No. 22 was last involved for France as part of their U21s squad for friendlies against England and Slovakia in March, scoring a hat-trick in a 5-3 win over the Young Lions.But having turned 23 in June he is ineligible at youth level and will instead await his first-ever call-up to the senior squad.No doubt that will come in time, particularly if Ekitike maintains his outstanding early form at the elite level with Liverpool.“I have so many things to do better, but I help the team as [much] as I can,” he told Sky Sports after his Man of the Match league debut against Bournemouth.“I can do a lot of things and I think I will get better and do even more for this team.”Meanwhile, Alexander Isak has included in the Sweden squad, which – if he signs for Liverpool – could serve as a valuable opportunity to build match fitness.