Liverpool will enter the summer transfer market in search of a new forward.
The Reds have been playing the majority of the 2024/25 campaign without a natural number nine as Arne Slot has opted to use Luis Diaz in the role due to Diogo Jota’s fitness issues and the poor form of Darwin Nunez.
Nunez is expected to leave Liverpool this summer after Saudi Arabia expressed their interest in the Uruguayan star in January and they are likely to return at the end of the season.
Selling the 25-year-old would require Liverpool to go out and find a replacement and with the transfer fee that is expected to arrive for Nunez, there will be some strong options on the table.
Matheus Cunha has been linked to Liverpool in recent weeks, but one man not being ruled out is Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Liverpool have ‘big issue’ with Joao Pedro deal
Pedro is a player that has caught the eye of many Premier League clubs this season as the 23-year-old continues to prove himself in the English top flight.
Liverpool have been one club linked to Pedro recently as the Brazilian seems to be a player the Merseyside club likes as he ticks a lot of boxes from his age to his style of play.
However, with a contract at Brighton until 2028, Pedro could cost Liverpool around £100m, and that could be a big problem according to Reds reporter David Lynch.
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“Joao Pedro, I don’t mind as a link, as it kind of makes sense to me. I’ve no doubt he’s a player they are watching, I can say that on him,” Lynch told Anfield Index.
“But again, is the production quite there at the level Liverpool would be maybe looking for this summer? You know, he doesn’t look like a guaranteed hit.
“The goals and assist is not right, right up there, is it? I’m just not massively bought into that, but if that’s the profile they want, and we maybe don’t think Cunha is right because of the issues he’s got at the moment, Pedro certainly fits that bill.”
“So it’s not one I would like to rule out. I would say on him, is he quite at that top, top level? He is very young as well, so maybe he’s on the cusp and they can see that he’s on the cusp of having a real breakout.
“But then, obviously the big issue is you’ve got to negotiate with Brighton, and he’s got a little bit of his contract left, so that’s a tricky one.
“But of course, that’s not one I’d like to rule out, because I think that it’d be risky and maybe silly to do that because he takes a lot of the boxes and I know Liverpool have watched him.”
Matheus Cunha is more of a risk for Liverpool
It is clear to see why Liverpool are targeting both Cunha and Pedro as they are natural strikers who have the ability to drop deep and create for teammates.
The route of the Wolves star seems to be more of a risk at present as he is older and has shown moments of some erratic behaviour throughout the current campaign.
Cunha is currently suspended for headbutting Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and that action is likely to have an impact on how Liverpool view the 25-year-old talent.
Player Games Goals Assists Minutes
Joao Pedro 24 8 7 1748
Matheus Cunha 29 15 4 2376
Joao Pedro and Matheus Cunha’s 2024/25 stats
Alexander Isak is the player Liverpool will want ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, but should that prove impossible, a move for Pedro would be the better option for the Reds this summer.
The Brazilian star looks to have something special about him and with better players providing him with opportunities, the Brighton talent could go to a new level.