**Liverpool got the confirmation they needed on Wednesday evening that they've got a new elite striker. And they've been waiting.**
Liverpool have been left in the lurch this season by Hugo Ekitike's long-term injury. The Frenchman went off in April and hasn't been able to play since - we may not see him wear the Red until 2027, quite honestly.
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That naturally created a problem. Liverpool only had two senior strikers, along with Alexander Isak. Isak's own injury record isn't exactly stellar, but the club had to rely on him to remain fit for the majority of a season.
And that while playing every important minute. It was always going to be too much to ask of any player in a high-intensity team and Isak is indeed out injured. There was the option of signing a striker in the summer to cover Ekitike but what do you do once he's back?
Liverpool instead did the sensible thing of trusting a youth player to step up. And he's done exactly that.
[Lewis Koumas](https://www.anfieldwatch.co.uk/liverpool-fc/players/lewis-koumas/) has spent the last three seasons playing in the Championship for Stoke City, Birmingham City and Hull City, scoring a grand total of seven league goals in that time. Liverpool, though, decided he was their pick to see them through the first half of this season as Isak's backup.
It was a great shout. Koumas has stepped up immediately, offering intensity and movement that appears to benefit every player in the team. He's held his own against Manchester City from the start and got his first UEFA Champions League goal on Wednesday against LASK.
Both games showed that Koumas has that skill that elite strikers need, too: he gets chances. He had a great one against City that produced a fine save, while he had a series of them in Austria.
The only problem was that two of them were offside. But Koumas finished all three he had - even if two were disallowed. It's that quality to consistently find space _and_ passing lanes for chances, though, that makes him a genuine option for Liverpool, though.
We'll see if Koumas gets the nod against Brentford or if Isak returns. But Liverpool do know going forward that Koumas can deliver at that top level, sniff out chances, and play as a core member of this team.
That's far beyond their wildest dreams at the start of the season - this period will, quite honestly, be the making of him.