Arne Slot has declared that Liverpool need to sign at least one more forward in the summer transfer window after the exits of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
Liverpool have undergone another summer of vast change, on and off the field, and Slot’s attacking options have been brought under the microscope after recently sanctioning two exits.
Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz have come in, but the tragic death of Diogo Jota and sales of Nunez and Diaz currently leave Liverpool with fewer options than last season.
When posed the question by Sky Sports over whether Ekitike is seen only as a No. 9, Slot went on to explain he needs “at least” one more attacker while hinting at how the Frenchman and Alexander Isak could play together.
“I see Hugo mainly as a number nine that could also play from the left or play together with another number nine,” Slot said.
“It’s clear that with Darwin gone and Luis Diaz gone, and even last season, we had five or six options. I think, again, Diogo, I need to mention him as well.
“So yeah, we need to have one more attacker, at least.”
‘At least one more attacker’
Alexander Isak scores vs. Sunderland in FA Cup. January 2024 (Owen Humphreys/PA)
With Federico Chiesa, Ben Doak and Harvey Elliott all attracting widespread interest, landing Isak would still leave Liverpool with fewer options than last season.
It stands to reason that a striker – namely Isak – and a winger would be Slot’s preference, without blocking Rio Ngumoha‘s pathway as a full-time member of the first team.
He is still only 16 and there will be an awareness not to rely too heavily on the teenager – Lyon’s Malick Fofana, for example, was linked earlier in the summer.
With Isak ‘on strike’ at Newcastle, in the words of the *Mail*‘s Craig Hope, Liverpool are seemingly in a holding pattern as they wait for Eddie Howe’s side to source a replacement.
And Howe has offered encouragement to Liverpool in an interview with the Times, saying: “The issue we have is that we haven’t just lost Alex [Isak] but also Callum Wilson from last season so we are definitely actively looking to recruit.
“We have a really good recruitment team but as you know we are missing a few key appointments [the absence of a CEO and director of football] so it’s been a challenge. Our recruitment at the club has so far been really strong.”