Liverpool have played a blinder, engineering a £10m deal with Real Madrid for Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Spanish giants paying a premium to sign the right-back in time for the Club World Cup.
For context, Los Blancos have just forked out a third of what Liverpool have paid to Bayer Leverkusen for Jeremie Frimpong, who signed on Friday in a deal worth £29.5m.
Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards are proving to be quite the dream team, all right, having absorbed criticism for a lack of spending across the past two transfer windows, only to now fire across every cylinder to strengthen Arne Slot’s Premier League champions.
Anfield is in good hands, and while supporters are getting excited over the prospect of Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez and Leverkusen sensation Florian Wirtz joining the crew, there’s more to come.
Namely, Liverpool want a new centre-forward.
Liverpool's hunt for a striker
Darwin Nunez has played his final game for Liverpool. Arriving from Benfica in a deal rising to £85m in 2022, the Uruguayan has faced consistent criticism for his poor finishing and struggles to impose himself in the Premier League.
And now, he’s expected to depart, with interest arising from Spain and the Saudi Pro League.
Under Slot’s wing, Nunez, 25, has bagged just seven goals from 47 matches in all competitions. To put that another way, he failed to score in 42 appearances.
With Diogo Jota also struggling to perform this term after being plagued by setbacks for most of his Liverpool career, rumours have surfaced of his potential sale too.
With Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak out of bounds, Liverpool seem to have centred on Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, though they face stiff competition from Chelsea, who remain keen despite closing on the £30m signing of Liam Delap.
FSG always like to have a contingency plan, but if recent reports are to be believed, their back-up option might not be the name on fans’ lips.
Liverpool add new CF to shortlist
According to Liverpool reporter Sam McGuire, Liverpool have added Paris Saint-Germain’s Goncalo Ramos to their shortlist as Slot looks for ways to improve his title-winning squad
It’s stressed that the 23-year-old isn’t at the top of the shopping list but is under consideration, with FSG’s data-driven approach suggesting he could be a superstar in the making.
Former Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward was desperate to sign Ramos in 2022, but Jurgen Klopp was captivated by Nunez and forged ahead with his gambit.
What Goncalo Ramos would bring to Liverpool
Benfica-reared strikers, ay. Liverpool know all about them.
Signing Nunez proved a failed ploy, for the striker has fallen by the wayside and Liverpool need to find a new out-and-out striker to help Mohamed Salah and co.
Is Ramos the right man for the job? It’s debatable. Luis Enrique has used the Portugal international sparingly this season, limiting him to just 16 starts across all competitions, albeit having bagged 18 goals and provided six assists.
Liverpool have already been fleeced for a Benfica talent in the past, and though Ramos wouldn’t be arriving directly from the Liga Portugal, he emerged from the Eagles academy, scored 41 goals across 106 fixtures before signing for PSG in an €80m (£67m) deal.
No transfer figure has been attributed to Liverpool’s ostensible interest, but there’s a good chance the French giants would be seeking a hefty figure for a young player whose up-and-down start has still led him to 40 goal contributions from 80 matches.
And since he’s failed to showcase his best attributes in Ligue 1 this season, you could argue that Ramos would just turn out to be another version of Nunez, were Liverpool to make their move this summer.
Matches (starts)
30 (8)
22 (12)
Goals
5
10
Assists
2
3
Shots (on target)*
1.1 (0.4)
2.5 (1.5)
Big chances missed
8
18
Accurate passes*
5.3 (71%)
8.7 (81%)
Key passes*
0.4
0 7
Dribbles*
0.3
0.1
Tackles + interceptions*
0.8
0.5
Duels won*
2.1
2.0
It’s somewhat concerning to note that Ramos has scarcely completed any dribbles in the league this season, instead hanging in the final third to reap the rewards of his energetic teammates’ labours.
And more concerning still is his profligacy, having missed 18 big chances despite only scoring ten goals. This is not the mark of a natural-born goalscorer, fit to take Nunez’s place and prove to Anfield he is vastly superior.
As per FBref, Ramos does rank among the top 9% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, but there’s nothing of much note in relation to his underlying data.
Once heralded by talent scout Jacek Kulig for his “outrageous start” to life in Portugal’s national team, Ramos might be a talented player but he’s not proven himself worthy of leading Liverpool’s line next season, lest fans be forced into a continuation of the plight that has beset Nunez’s journey on Merseyside.
Instead, Slot needs a confident goalscorer who will provide a sustained, elite-level threat, so this is maybe one for FSG to park and focus on alternative targets instead.
Ultimately, it’s too early to tell how concrete Liverpool’s interest is with this one, but if recent rumours are to be believed, intrigue is indeed there and the Reds could opt to make a leftfield investment to strengthen their frontline.
Slot’s Liverpool is already jam-packed with talented forwards, and perhaps the question needs to be raised as to whether Ramos would enhance this team, having left much to be desired with his finishing.
Salah 2.0: Liverpool pursuing £59m star who has a "left foot made of gold"
Liverpool may yet enter the transfer market for a right-sided forward this summer.
ByAngus Sinclair
