If you are a forward player operating in Europe’s top five divisions, there’s a good chance Liverpool might come knocking.
Certainly, any striker regularly finding the back of the net might be on to their agents trying to engineer a switch to Anfield in the coming months. It’s one of the main positions that the Reds must strengthen.
Despite hurtling towards the Premier League title, the No.9 role has been a problem position. Diogo Jota started the campaign in good form but he inevitably suffered injury problems yet again. The Portugal international has had several issues and found himself out of form since returning to full fitness. Jota has netted only two goals in 2025 and his performance have been subdued.
However, although Jota has struggled, Darwin Nunez has remained out of favour. The 25-year-old has managed just eight starts en route to Premier League glory, with one in 2025. That was against basement side Southampton, while he missed the 2-1 win over West Ham because of illness.. In truth, it would be a surprise if Nunez remains a Liverpool player by the time the summer transfer window closes. It hasn’t worked out for him since arriving from Benfica almost three years ago.
Recent performances have underlined that Luis Diaz is far more suited to being operated on the left flank. That is the position head coach Arne Slot also prefers to utilise Cody Gakpo and the pair have bagged a combined 31 goals.
Liverpool are going to need to splash the cash for a new striker. There have been enough linked. From Alexander Isak to Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sekso to Joao Pedro, Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes will have their wish list drawn up. Isak would be the top target for plenty given his outstanding season for Newcastle United, firing 24 goals. However, the Magpies are likely to demand at least £100 million and will be even more reluctant to sell if Champions League qualification is achieved.
The Reds will also have significant competition for whoever they aim to sign. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are set to in the market for a new marksman.
A bonus would be recruiting someone with Premier League experience. It can take players who have never plied their trade in England a period to acclimatise and that is something that may not be afforded. There is anticipation that the 2025-26 title race will be much more fierce.
But perhaps Slot has an ace card up his sleeve. Perhaps he’s happy for Liverpool to be linked with a sundry of centre-forwards. Perhaps the data has already been crunched behind the scenes and the one who comes out on top is a leftfield options. Perhaps after the victory over West Ham United, Slot gave an insight into who he would like to recruit.
The Hammers left Merseyside feeling they were deserving of a share of the spoils. Their second-half performance would have warranted a draw, with Mohammed Kudus one of their chief attacking threats along with Lucas Paqueta. After the interval, Kudus’ pace and power caused Liverpool problems aplenty. The Ghana international was denied an equaliser when his shot was saved by Alisson Becker and he had an effort tipped over the bar in the opening 45 minutes.
