Liverpool won the Premier League this season, pulling themselves back onto their perch.
Number 20 has placed the Reds level with historic rivals Manchester United as the most successful club in English top-flight history, and considering the gulf between the two superpowers, Anfield have a fantastic chance to peel ahead in the coming years.
1)
Man United
20
1=
Liverpool
20
3)
Arsenal
13
4)
Man City
10
5)
Everton
9
In order to achieve this, FSG have recognised the importance of bringing in some fresh faces, especially since vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold has left to play for Real Madrid.
Jeremie Frimpong has signed, and his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz should follow. Liverpool are also in advancing talks to sign Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.
However, given the woes of Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota across the 2024/25 campaign, it’s hardly surprising Arne Slot is seeking to sign a new striker.
Liverpool's striker search
According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool’s Nunez is “planning to leave” Merseyside this summer, having only scored seven times across all competitions in Slot’s system.
Jota’s campaign was blighted by yet more injuries, but it’s more likely he stays put and adds depth and clinical quality to the Reds first team.
But who to bring in? Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak is staying put, reports David Ornstein, after Eddie Howe’s side qualified for the Champions League, while Chelsea are frontrunners in the race for Hugo Ekitike, who has been valued at a questionable €100m (£84m) by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Liverpool have also turned down an offer from Barcelona for Luis Diaz, willing to keep the Colombian onboard even if that leads to eventual free agency. The 28-year-old filled in at centre-forward on numerous occasions last year.
Diaz, however, is not an out-and-out forward, and if he stays, his principal role will be to compete with Cody Gakpo for a place on the left wing.
Even if Isak and Ekitike prove out of reach, Liverpool need to sign a new striker.
Liverpool approach new striker
According to Caught Offside, Liverpool may have found a left-field solution in their quest for firepower.
Transfer Focus
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FSG appear to have done quite the deep dive on the Bundesliga’s standout players this year, and Nick Woltemade could be the man they decide to welcome to number nine, having made an official approach to DFB-Pokal champions Stuttgart.
The 23-year-old, valued at €50m (£43m), has enjoyed a prolific term in his German homeland and is also being courted by Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United, along with a host of further suitors on the continent.
Given Liverpool are spending the big bucks this summer, a more affordable forward to the aforementioned targets could be appealing.
What Nick Woltemade would bring to Anfield
Woltemade isn’t the highest-profile name on the block, but then Liverpool have often enjoyed travelling the less-trodden path in the transfer market.
Across 33 matches in all competitions this term, Woltemade scored 17 goals and laid on three assists, making startling headway in his first season at Stuttgart, only scoring twice across 30 matches for Werder Bremen in 2023/24.
Moreover, he was instrumental in Stuttgart’s stunning DFB-Pokal triumph, scoring in each of the five rounds he played (the DFB-Pokal is effectively the German version of the FA Cup).
Woltemade is a hulking presence at 6 foot 6, but he’s not just a target man, creating eight big chances in the Bundesliga this year, also averaging 1.1 dribbles and 4.4 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.
Given he only started 17 times, Liverpool chiefs may be wary of forking out a big sum for someone yet to reach their potential, but the same could be said for Ekitike, who would cost twice as much and scored 22 goals across 48 games since last summer.
It’s curious that he bears such a striking likeness to Isak, who stands at 6 foot 3 and is one of the most silky goalscorers in the Premier League. Pundit Alan Shearer has described him as “the complete striker”.
Woltemade, in fact, ranked among the top 11% of centre-forwards playing in Europe’s top five leagues this season for passes attempted, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 4% for successful take-ons and the top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty area, as per FBref. His performances have drawn Isak and Ekitike as comparable players.
What a unique profile. It’s almost as if you fused together a throwback forward profile with the modern-tailored styles of Isak and Ekitike, creating a Frankenstein-esque striker who would be perfect for Slot’s dynamic tactical set-up.
He’s also got a taste for silverware after leading his team to glory, and of course, is at heart an “exceptional” goalscorer, as has been noted by talent scout Antonio Mango.
It’s unlikely this German talent would arrive on Premier League grass and start performing to the level of Isak, who is out of reach at more than £150m, but his dynamic, variegated approach to the striker’s craft suggests he could be an astute signing, following Wirtz and the like.
Isak created 11 big chances in the Premier League this year, averaging 1.2 dribbles per game. This is a profile Liverpool have been desperate to sign, even shifting their focus to Ekitike, a similar kind of forward.
Maybe both players will perform on other Premier League planes next year, but Woltemade could be Liverpool’s own version, could be fashioned into something special.
How often have we seen a new recruit prove doubters wrong and rise to the very fore?
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