Liverpool are on the cusp of winning the Premier League title for the second time in its modern format. Victory will take Anfield’s top-flight triumphs to 20 across the sweep of history, levelling with bitter rivals Manchester United.
It could be settled this week. Should second-place Arsenal, whose eggs lie in the Champions League basket, fall at home against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Liverpool will win the title. Otherwise, the Merseysiders have the chance to clinch it themselves when they host beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Arne Slot is going to get a taste for silver on English soil, and he’s going to want more. The Dutch tactician, who replaced Jurgen Klopp last year, has already confirmed Liverpool are planning to attack the summer transfer market with a hunger.
Multiple areas require attention, but with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s contracts wrapped up, it’s clear Liverpool are looking to spend a shedload on a brand-new centre-forward.
Why Liverpool want a striker
Klopp’s many players have been effectively subsumed into Slot’s way of life, but Darwin Nunez remains an uncrackable nut.
Liverpool’s head coach gave it his best shot, but the 25-year-old hasn’t reacted all that well to the Dutchman’s tactical nuances, scoring just seven times across all competitions and starting only once in the Premier League since Boxing Day.
He’s set to leave, but sourcing the perfect successor isn’t going to be a walk in the park. On Monday, Fabrizio Romano revealed on GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness show that Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak remains the top target at number nine but won’t be signed unless his exorbitant £150m valuation is slashed.
Strong across all areas and a goalscorer of the highest station, the Sweden international’s the dream, alright, but the report details growing interest in RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro, who has scored 30 goals and laid on ten assists across 70 games for Brighton.
Change is afoot at Anfield, but Nunez isn’t the only member of Slot’s attacking fold who may be in the firing line this summer.
Plenty of speculation has circled around Luis Diaz’s head, but the in-form, multi-positional winger might be better off staying put this term.
However, there’s another who needs to be sold. Believe it or not, this man’s actually been more wasteful in front of goal than Nunez since Slot walked through the door.
Liverpool must cash in on wasteful star
It’s curious that Liverpool should be cruising toward the Premier League title, their first since Jurgen Klopp dominated the 2019/20 campaign, but feel in need of surgery across a range of positions.
Such is the ambition of this team, whose future will surely lie at the forefront of the European game with key players tied down and exciting targets being lined up.
But Liverpool will need to cash in on one or two. They haven’t received bang for their buck with Nunez, but Diogo Jota has been a clinical presence in the final third since he signed for Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £41m fee in 2020.
However, he’s endured a miserable season and may well be heading toward the end of his time on Merseyside.
Only 15 months ago, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher remarked that Jota, from a pure ball-striking standpoint, might be Liverpool’s deadliest goalscorer, saying, “he’s a better finisher than the likes of Suarez, Torres, even Salah.”
Quite the praise, but not true anymore. So many injuries and inconsistencies have taken their toll, and this current version pales in comparison to the sure-firing Jota of old.
Jota’s shooting boots have deserted him. He’s missed 13 big chances in the Premier League having converted six goals, as per Sofascore. Across the past two campaigns, the 28-year-old fired 17 strikes home, missing 13 big chances.
Something’s gone awry. Given that he’s actually been more profligate than Nunez this season, it doesn’t feel like Jota’s toils are backing up Carragher’s lofty words from last year.
Mohamed Salah
33
27
23.84 (+3.16)
21
Luis Diaz
32
11
9.23 (+1.77)
9
Cody Gakpo
30
8
6.22 (+1.78)
6
Diogo Jota
22
6
7.26 (-1.26)
13
Darwin Nunez
25
5
4.88 (+0.12)
6
Federico Chiesa
4
0
0.25 (-0.25)
1
The Uruguay striker, set to leave in the coming months, hasn’t actually been all that wasteful in front of goal this season; rather, he’s lacked composure and a stylistic understanding of Slot’s demands.
Liverpool are going to sign a new centre-forward, to be sure, but why not two? A young, eager-to-please star could fill Jota’s boots, jockey with the young and lively Jayden Danns for a nailed-down place in Slot’s high-performing squad.
Were Salah not in such staggering form this season, Nunez and Jota’s struggles may well have been to the detriment of Liverpool’s title charge, for neither have covered themselves in glory this season.
Alan Shearer even branded Jota “embarrassing” after a half-baked attempt to win a penalty in a victory over Newcastle last season, when ostensibly he could have struck cleanly on goal instead.
The Portugal international has more than paid his due at Anfield over the past five years, but every dog has their day, and this talented forward no longer bears his trademark incisiveness in the final third.
Given that he takes home a pretty penny at £140k per week and is about to enter the penultimate year of his contract, it might be worth cashing in while FSG can still bank a sizeable fee.
Maybe he was once Liverpool’s cleanest finisher, but he’s performing to a lower standard than Nunez and that makes the final comment on Carragher’s claim.
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