Gyökeres or Bust? Liverpool’s Striker Plans Assessed on Daily Red Podcast | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Striker Search: Why Gyökeres Leads the Pack

In the latest Daily Red Podcast, Dave Hendrick gave listeners a clear and passionate rundown on Liverpool’s potential striker moves this summer. With the Reds crowned Premier League champions, all attention now turns to how Arne Slot can elevate his squad. One area of focus? The attack. Hendrick left no doubt: “This is not the end of something, this is the beginning of something really special under this manager.”

Gyökeres Doing It at Every Level

The standout name in Hendrick’s discussion was Viktor Gyökeres, the Sporting CP forward enjoying a sensational run in Portugal. Hendrick was unequivocal in his praise: “This guy is absolutely outrageous. You do not do what he’s doing without being a special footballer.”

Gyökeres has netted 38 league goals, a figure that dwarfs rivals: “Pavlidis has 18 league goals this season, Samu has 16… Gyökeres has 38. You can add together any two players in the league and he’s scored at least four more than them.”

The former Coventry man has proven his worth in both the Championship and Liga Portugal. Hendrick highlighted his consistency and versatility: “He’s done it in English football in a tough league. He’s gone to Portugal and it’s not just that he’s shone — he looks so far and above everyone else in that league, it’s like he’s playing a different sport.”

Value Over Hype

Critically, Hendrick pushed back against lazy comparisons: “It needs to stop with the Darwin comparisons because Darwin never did this. His season last year was significantly better than the Darwin season that we bought Darwin off the back of.”

While some fans may question Gyökeres’ age — he turns 27 this summer — Hendrick dismissed that concern: “If you want a win-now move, a ready-made goal scorer, he is right there… I think he’s 20 goals a season in the Premier League for four, five, six years.”

Striker Targets: Osimhen, Alvarez, Samu, Pavlidis

Hendrick mentioned other elite targets: Victor Osimhen, Julian Alvarez, and Alexander Isak. But price tags and availability make them unlikely: “Newcastle have no real intention of selling Isak… If they’re in the Champions League and he’s got three years left on his deal, why would they sell?”

Alvarez, though ideal stylistically, is also seen as unrealistic. Hendrick noted: *“He would be incredible… but he’s not gettable.” That’s why Gyökeres makes the most sense — productive, available and proven: “Sporting are open to selling for below his release clause according to all reporting.”

As for others like Samu and Pavlidis, Hendrick was respectful but firm in his rankings: “People have talked about Samu, and I think he’s a really big prospect… Pavlidis at Benfica has been mentioned… but Gyokeres has 38 goals.”

Ready for the Next Evolution

Liverpool’s next chapter under Arne Slot could be defined by how smartly they move in the striker market. Hendrick closed the striker talk by saying: “If we can’t get Isak or Alvarez, Amoura and Gyökeres are right there. Both of them are gettable… Gyökeres could do similar for us as Ruud van Nistelrooy did for United.”

That’s high praise, and a bold prediction. But Hendrick’s case is clear: if Liverpool want immediate output, European experience and physical presence, Gyökeres might just be the answer.