Liverpool has made a flying start to the summer, bringing in Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. But there remains one more obvious area in which an upgrade would make a big difference.
Given that Darwin Nunez is expected to move on amid interest from Napoli and Diogo Jota was unconvincing for much of Arne Slot's first season in charge, signing a new number nine seems logical for the Reds. However, there is a pretty big stumbling block.
Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak would be the dream pick in the eyes of many, but he is likely to be unattainable. Likewise, Julian Alvarez would be a good fit, but such a move doesn't feel likely.
And, unfortunately, aside from that, there are no glaring solutions. Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike and others have been linked — Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres, after a 63-goal season, albeit in Portugal, might also be considered — but each comes with caveats.
Sesko is relatively unproven and would be expensive. Ekitike is valued at well over $100M at the moment, which would be madness. And Gyokeres, as mentioned, has done it in a weaker league.
Are there other options? There are some, of course, but none are particularly appealing. And even those who you could perhaps put the case forward for might be valued extortionately as a result of the scarcity.
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In the last 24 hours or so, for instance, Chelsea has agreed a deal for Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro. And that, given how much the transfer is worth, is another reminder of how limited the market is.
Pedro scored just 10 goals last season. And yet, BBC Sport reports that the move to Stamford Bridge will be worth up to $82 million (£60 million) including add-ons.
A Brazilian international, Pedro is clearly talented. At 23, his best years should be ahead of him, too. But spending that sort of money on someone who has not reached the heights required to make that look good value is a risk.
It is the kind of gamble that Chelsea seems comfortable making, having formulated its entire transfer policy around overpaying for bringing in unestablished talent, but it is difficult to imagine Liverpool doing similar.
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That is not to say that Liverpool doesn't also spend big at times — Wirtz, for example, was almost double what Pedro cost — but the German playmaker is much more of a sure thing. When it spends big, Liverpool does so decisively on already world-class additions.
While not signing any striker would be a risk of its own kind, Liverpool might be wiser to hold on and wait if the right player doesn't become available at the right price.
With Wirtz through the door, the Reds are already stronger in attack, and Luis Diaz did well enough at number nine last season to pick up a Premier League winners' medal.
Pedro's $82M move to Chelsea shows the market is limited in terms of forwards at the moment. Given that is the case, Liverpool is right to have so far kept its number nine powder dry.