It must be said: Liverpool are perhaps enjoying a better summer transfer window than they ever did under Jurgen Klopp.
FSG’s incisiveness gives us all the material we need to surmise their Anfield ambitions over the coming years. Though afflicted by the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left for Real Madrid on a free transfer, Jeremie Frimpong has joined from Bayer Leverkusen in a £29.5m deal to jockey with Conor Bradley for the right-back berth.
And with Milos Kerkez on the cusp of replacing Andy Robertson, 31, who is being targeted by Atletico Madrid as he enters the last year of his contract, Arne Slot’s new-look defensive flanks could be solidified for many exciting years to come.
The Premier League champions should also see Florian Wirtz follow Frimpong from Leverkusen to sign for the Reds in what could rise to a British-record £116m fee (£100m will be paid upfront and a further £16m is possible through add-ons).
The elite playmaker allegedly rejected interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City to join Liverpool, with his medical set for this week.
Liverpool have turned a corner, all right, now acting like the behemoth they are. However, such signings are fantastic, but Liverpool’s priority perhaps remains at number nine, with a new centre-forward needed to ease Mohamed Salah’s talismanic burden.
Why Liverpool need a new striker
Three years ago (almost to the day), Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez from Benfica in an initial £64m deal. It could have reached a club-record £85m fee, but that never happened, largely because of the Uruguayan’s stop-start performances.
Now, he’s going to be sold, with suitors in the Saudi Pro League and mounting interest in Serie A, Napoli and AC Milan both keen on completing a deal.
He needs to go, and Salah needs help. The Egyptian has just turned 33 and the balance of output must be spread across Slot’s frontline next year, lest he be overwhelmed by responsibility once again.
Looking at the forwards’ respective hauls across the 2024/25 season, it’s interesting that Nunez and Diogo Jota, the two recognised central strikers, languished near the bottom, better only than the rarely-played Federico Chiesa.
Mohamed Salah
38 (38)
29
18
Luis Diaz
36 (28)
13
7
Cody Gakpo
35 (23)
10
5
Diogo Jota
26 (14)
6
4
Darwin Nunez
30 (8)
5
3
Federico Chiesa
6 (1)
0
0
The expectation is that Nunez will be sold, but he will be sold as a Premier League champion, having also registered four goal involvements en route to lifting the Carabao Cup in 2023/24 too.
Salah needs a new dance partner, and there so happens to be one on FSG’s radar.
Liverpool remain in race for new striker
As per Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool remain in the race for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike alongside Chelsea, though Manchester United are ramping up their efforts for the striker, with club-to-club talks having begun last week.
This shows that Liverpool will need to accelerate their own interest, but likely, they will struggle to do so until Nunez has been offloaded. Crucially, this will need to happen soon, although Plettenberg’s earlier report on the matter claims the French forward is aware of Anfield’s plan.
However, with Frankfurt obstinately holding onto their €100m (£85m) valuation, it remains to be seen whether Liverpool or indeed anyone will pay up, with Chelsea already sounding out alternatives.
This is followed by transfer insider Graeme Bailey’s claim that the Merseyside outfit can be considered frontrunners after holding talks, and that the player’s entourage have informed interested parties that he might actually be available for a cheaper figure than Frankfurt want.
Why Liverpool should sign Ekitike
Ekitike is only 22, but he’s already proved himself capable of approaching world-class level, with analyst Ben Mattinson even declaring him as “one of the best strikers out there” in March.
This has been ratified by the data: not only did Ekitike finish the campaign with 22 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, but he also wrapped it up ranked among the top 4% of strikers across Europe’s top five leagues last year for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for progressive carries and successful take-ons, and the top 19% for ball recoveries per 90, as per FBref.
A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.
He’s come a long way already, only scoring four times and making 33 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain before being loaned out and then sold, having signed the Reims prospect for €35m (£30m) in July 2022.
Perhaps the Eagles want too much, but that’s up to sporting director Richard Hughes to engineer a more agreeable package for one of the most talented frontmen out there.
His elegance and underlying data suggest he could not only help Salah maintain his high level of performance but also become Slot’s very own version of the Premier League all-timer.
In 2017, when Liverpool purchased Salah from Roma in a deal worth £34m, few expected him to become a superstar under Jurgen Klopp, having previously failed to make it work with Chelsea, scoring twice over 19 games before being offloaded to Italy.
Now, he’s a legend, having scored 245 goals and provided 113 assists across 401 trophy-filled fixtures as a Liverpool sensation.
Salah is chiefly a deadly marksman, but he’s also something of an underrated playmaker. Of course, all know of his impressive creativity, but perhaps not so much his highest-station calibre in that regard, among conversations with some all-timers in the ball-playing department.
But it’s not just the way these two will play together (although that’s a tantalising thought), but indeed Ekitike could prove to be Liverpool’s next version of the Egyptian King, albeit in a different attacking position.
As we have discussed, Ekitike is enjoying new prolific heights but this stands atop the wide foundations of an expansive skill set, with all the facets no doubt gleaned by Liverpool’s renowned data-driven team.
The same was true for Salah, who enjoyed his time in Italy, earning praise for his goalscoring, but was far more even in that earlier iteration.
Matches (starts)
34 (32)
31 (29)
Goals
14
15
Assists
6
11
Shots (on target)*
2.1 (0.9)
2.6 (1.1)
Big chances missed
8
16
Pass completion
83%
80%
Big chances created
8
13
Key passes*
1.9
2.4
Dribbles*
1.6
1.2
Tackles + interceptions*
1.0
1.2
Duels won*
3.7
3.1
As you can see, he was consistent in his playmaking, dribbling and crispness in retaining possession, also chipping in with a lively amount of defensive work, also winning a fair amount of duels on a game-by-game basis.
And you could even draw upon the right winger’s 16 big chances missed on that final campaign in Rome, scoring 15 times. Ekitike actually mirrored that in the German top division last season, 15 goals, 16 big chances squandered.
His constant drive forward, electric and connective with those around him, project the style of a complete forward, something Liverpool typically like at number nine and, of course, a style which Salah has used to wreak havoc on the Premier League for so many years.
Liverpool saw something that others didn’t and welcomed Salah as he was getting going. Now they are basking in the glory of it, have been for many years.
By following this well-beaten internal path, they might just hit the jackpot once again, landing an “incredible” new attacking asset, as Ekitike has been called by teammate Rasmus Kristensen.
Salah’s is a story of merciless predation on hapless Premier League and European defences. His greatness is carved into the division and Liverpool’s most fundamental history; have a conversation about the best of the best, and he shall be named.
Ekitike’s got a long way to go, but he too has weathered the storm of a tough start to life at one of the continent’s superpowers, and having taken a so-called step down to find his feet, is now ready to move to the Premier League and become one of the best of the best.
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