Liverpool were dumped out of the Champions League in the cruellest fashion, but the two-legged defeat against Paris Saint-Germain will have given Arne Slot plenty of food for thought ahead of the summer transfer window.
Though Mohamed Salah toiled with little success, he would be somewhat within his right to feel let down by the performances of his forward peers. Namely, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez both flattered to deceive at Anfield on Tuesday, with neither enjoying the finest of campaigns in front of goal.
Darwin Nunez in action for Liverpool
It's clear where Liverpool's priorities should lie in the transfer market.
Liverpool's summer transfer plans
According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are certain to be in the mix for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak this summer, with noise regarding the deadly striker's future hotting up.
Isak
If Liverpool manage to sign Isak, or indeed any number nine worth their salt, it will almost certainly spell the end of the road for Nunez, who came close to leaving for Al-Nassr in January and is expected to move on in the summer.
According to Sky Germany, Jota is also part of a list of potential summer sales, Federico Chiesa too. Jota has been called "the best finisher" Liverpool have had in the Premier League by Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher, but his Midas touch has deserted him of late, eight games without a goal having endured miserable injury luck yet again.
Diogo Jota at Liverpool (Injury History)
Season
24/25
23/24
22/23
21/22
20/21
Stats via Transfermarkt
Liverpool's interest in a goalscorer of Isak's ilk is more than understandable, but for a figure in excess of £150m, FSG may not authorise an actual approach.
More cost-effective alternatives will be pursued too. And anyway, the Reds may already have their own teenage version of the Sweden striker.
Liverpool already have their own version of Isak
Off the bat: it's not Salah.
However, Liverpool do have a young striker with an innate goalscoring quality who may bloom into a menacing number nine in the years to come. You can probably guess who.
In the pipeline
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
He will hope for better luck on the injury front himself going forward, but it's hard to dispute the raw potential of Jayden Danns at centre-forward.
Liverpool forward Jayden Danns
Having taken his first steps on the major stage under Jurgen Klopp last season, Danns, 19, has quickly become a popular figure on Merseyside, with his natural finishing skill, instinctive movements and intelligence suggesting an illustrious career lies ahead.
It's worth issuing a reminder that footballers develop considerably as they head into their early twenties. A 19-year-old Isak plied his trade with Willem II, scoring 14 goals and providing seven assists across 18 appearances in the 2018/19 season before moving to Borussia Dortmund.
Danns hasn't yet been able to showcase his skills with such regularity, but you'd back him to bag his share in the Dutch Eredivisie, for sure.
He's got talent in spades; analyst Ben Mattinson has even hailed Danns as "a better finisher than Nunez" at this fledgling career stage.
You can see it, in fairness. There's a coolness, an ease, to Dann's finishing, much like Isak in a way. From only nine senior appearances with Liverpool, he's bagged himself three goals in the FA Cup, two of which came last year against Southampton.
There's ample reason to get excited. The right progress over the coming years will no doubt see his shooting boots filed to a fine point, rivalling the best the business has to offer - like Isak.
Jayden Danns scores for Liverpool.
Sadly, his winter-sealed loan move to Sunderland may be scuppered in its entirety after injury. Danns was doing well in his recovery, but it was revealed near the end of February that. he may not return at all before the summer, thus ending hopes of an impact at the Stadium of Light.
Whether FSG decide to loan him out after pre-season to sharpen his tools remains to be seen. But let's not forget Danns; he's a natural-born finisher and could be a significant part of Slot's long-term plans at Liverpool.
Martin Zubimendi in action Related
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Liverpool have a young star out on loan who could become the club's own Martin Zubimendi.