Mohamed Salah has been the star of the show for Liverpool this season with his exceptional performances for Arne Slot's side at the top end of the pitch.
The Egypt international has scored 243 goals in 392 appearances for the club in all competitions, but he is currently on track for his best season at Anfield.
Salah has racked up 54 direct goal contributions in all competitions and is looking to beat his current best tally of 58 in the 2017/18 campaign in the final two months of the season.
His sensational performances in the final third have, perhaps, masked a lack of a clinical edge from his Liverpool teammates, that could be exposed if he departs on a free transfer this summer.
Liverpool's underlying finishing problems
Whilst Salah has scored 27 goals from an xG of 22.98 in the Premier League this season, several of Slot's forward players have underperformed against their expected tally.
In fact, according to WhoScored, four of Liverpool's top six goalscorers in the top-flight have underperformed against their xG, with only Salah and Cody Gakpo showing a ruthless edge in front of goal.
|Liverpool's top goalscorers|
|24/25 Premier League|xG|Goals|xG differential|
|---|
|Mo Salah|22.98|27|+4.02|
|Luis Diaz|9.18|9|-0.18|
|Cody Gakpo|6.35|8|+1.65|
|Darwin Nunez|5.28|5|-0.28|
|Diogo Jota|7.21|5|-2.21|
|Dominik Szoboszlai|6.17|5|1.17|
|Stats via WhoScored|
As you can see in the table above, Dominik Szoboszlai, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Diaz have all fallen the wrong side of their xG so far.
Darwin Nunez applauds Liverpool fans
Nunez and Jota have often been deployed as the starting number nine for the Reds this term, which suggests that Slot has a problem in that position which could be accentuated by Salah's exit as they have combined for just ten goals from 12.49 xG in the league.
How Slot can move on from Jota and Nunez
The Liverpool manager can finally move on from both Jota and Nunez, potentially even being able to cash in on them in the summer if there is enough interest, by unleashing Federico Chiesa in a new role.
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Signed from Juventus last summer, the Italy international has only played 25 minutes of football across three appearances in the Premier League.
A muscle injury sustained in September has heavily disrupted his first season at Anfield, because it caused him to miss 14 matches and that allowed other players to play their way ahead of him in the pecking order.
Federico Chiesa scores for Liverpool
Chiesa provided Slot with a reminder of the quality he can provide when given an opportunity, though, when he came on against Newcastle United in the League Cup final to bury his only effort on goal.
The Italian dynamo, who Rio Ferdinand once claimed "unnerves defenders" with his pace in behind, also showcased his finishing quality during his time with Juventus, as shown in the clips above.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Chiesa scored nine goals from 6.43 xG in 25 starts in the Serie A. This shows that the potential is there for him to be a ruthless finisher when the chances come his way, as was the case in the final at Wembley last weekend.
The rarely-seen Liverpool forward, who can play as a second striker or as a number nine as well as his usual position on the wing, should now be unleashed as the starting striker for the Reds in the coming weeks to see how he fares.
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The Liverpool chief must ruthlessly cash in on the forward who has been outperformed by Cody Gakpo.
Slot has not had a number nine with a reliable finishing record so far this season and Chiesa has the potential to be that figure, thus allowing the manager to bin Nunez and Jota from the starting XI moving forward.