Liverpool are expected to be in the market for a striker this summer
Premier League champions Liverpool are building a new-look team for next season as they aim to cement their status as the best club in English football.
The Reds have already made their mark in the transfer window with the signing of Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverksuen and are progressing well with deals for the Dutchman’s team-mate Florian Wirtz as well as potentially adding Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez in the coming days.
The Reds are also expected to be in the market for a proven centre forward to alleviate some of the responsibility from ageing talisman Mohamed Salah, 32, particularly in a season where the ‘Egyptian King’ will compete in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Anfield side have struggled in Salah’s absence in years where the forward has competed in AFCON and even though the Egyptian has only missed a few matches, it has at times played a role in deciding the league championship.
Liverpool last defended a league title in 1984 when Joe Fagan inherited the team from the legendary Bob Paisley and now Arne Slot will hope to become the first coach since the man nicknamed the ‘quiet genius’ to win the league in back-to-back seasons.
Robbie Fowler names the perfect striker target for Liverpool
Former England international Robbie Fowler, known around Merseyside simply as "God", certainly knows a thing or two when it comes to scoring goals at the top level after finding the net 183 times in total for Liverpool, making him the Reds second highest scorer in the Premier League era and the sixth in the club’s history.
Fowler was quizzed by fans on X, on who he’d sign for Liverpool if he could choose a striker target and he responded simply "I'd take Ollie Watkins... works hard, got goals in him."
In recent weeks, the Reds have been heavily linked with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, but in Watkins they’d be getting their hands on a striker with a proven track record in the Premier League that could almost guarantee plenty of goals at the highest level.
Why Liverpool should choose Ollie Watkins over Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike has enjoyed the season of his life with 22 goals and 12 assists from 48 matches across all competitions in the Bundesliga. The 22-year-old is blossoming into one of the most feared strikers in German football and is renowned for his terrific strength, hold up play and ability to score goals.
Ekitike has just had his major breakout campaign as a footballer with 15 of his goals coming in the Bundesliga, but he’s far from an unknown quantity having been on the radar of a number of top European football clubs for the last few years.
For example, in January 2022, during his first full top-flight season with Reims, he was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United, but strayed away from a move with the Saudi-backed side languishing in the relegation places at the time.
Six months later, the Magpies returned with a fresh offer that was on the verge of being completed before Paris Saint-Germain gazumped them at the final race by striking a loan deal with an obligation to buy for a reported £29m.
Ekitike never really got going in the French capital and only scored four times in 33 appearances across all competitions for the Parisians. He was sold after 18 months to Frankfurt on a six-month loan deal which became permanent for just £14m in the summer of 2024. The youngster struggled to impress at PSG despite injuries to a number of stars including Neymar.
However, this was a while before the Luis Enrique era began to take shape, with his sale being agreed during the Galactico’s era and things could have well turned out different if the club was following the model it has today.
But based on one strong season thequoted value of £84m for Ekitike presents a huge risk for Liverpool, with the forward’s current progress being heavily similar to Darwin Nunez, who had exploded into life with aged 22, with 26 goals in his final league season at Benfica, having only scored six the year before.
Nunez has been inconsistent throughout his time at Liverpool and though he’s certainly treated fans to great moments, he’s not lived up to the club-record fee that was paid.
In short, Ekitike presents a huge gamble. Meanwhile, Ollie Watkins is someone with a proven track record in England and in many ways is a near banker when it comes to someone that would adapt easily to the demands of playing somewhere like Anfield.
Admittedly, Watkins is much older at 29 as opposed to the 22-year-old Ekitike, but he’s a proven finisher in English football with excellent positional sense, pace to stretch defences and a tireless ability to press defences high up the pitch.
He’s hit double figures in every league season he’s played in since 2016/17 when he was starting out at League Two Exeter City - and has 11 or more league goals in all five campaigns he’s played in the top-flight.
Overall, Watkins has a record of 87 goals and 42 assists in 223 appearances for Aston Villa, making him one of the most lethal forwards in English football over the last half a decade. He’s renowned for his ability to press defences effectively and is notably renowned for being extremely creative, with his tally of 34 assists being the ninth most of any player in the last five seasons, and the best of any centre forward in the entire league in that timeframe.
Watkins was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in January and is believed to be valued at around £50m amid reports that Villa might have to cash in on a top player to comply with PSR this summer after missing out on Champions League qualification.
Jamie Carragher added fuel to rumours surrounding Watkins’ long-term future at Villa Park when he said on The Overlap: “When we talk about Arsenal going for Ollie Watkins, someone told me that Aston Villa offered him to Arsenal - I know that,"
"I don’t think it was Arsenal phoning Villa saying they want to sign him."Arsenal didn’t sign him because they didn’t offer a lot of money. They offered around £50 million. However, this is the information I had. If I know that then I’m sure his agent knows that.
“Villa have spent a lot of money, and they need to get something back. In an ideal world, you probably would sell Ollie Watkins and keep Jhon Duran because he is the younger player – he is only 21.”
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