Liverpool’s Attacking Transfer Targets for the Summer 2025 | OneFootball

Do Liverpool have an attack that is the envy of the rest of Europe or a forward line that is full of misfiring strikers and has-beens? The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, with one of the trickiest things to work out being exactly what it is that Arne Slot wants from his central striker.

Given the fact that neither Darwin Núñez nor Diogo Jota have exactly set the league alight when they’ve been played through the middle, bringing in someone a little more deadly might be seen as a must by the manager. Then there’s the fact that Mo Salah’s contract is on the verge of expiring.

Add in the desire of Luis Díaz to move to Barcelona almost since the moment that he arrived and the misfiring nature of Cody Gakpo in recent times, to say nothing of the manager’s refusal to use Federico Chiesa in a meaningful way and you can see why it is that there is some concern around the frontline from some supporters.

Very few of the attacking options have played well consistently all season, even if they have worked together well as a whole. Only Slot himself will know what it is that he wants from his forwards, but an overhaul certainly seems likely during the summer window.

Alexander Isak

Will Newcastle United, the club owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, be willing to sell Alexander Isak if they make the Champions League? That seems like the main question that needs to be answered when it comes to the Swedish forward, who virtually every club in Europe will be looking to sign this summer. As with Martín Zubimendi, who you can read about in the Midfield Transfer Target piece, there are plenty of rumours of Arsenal wanting to sign the Newcastle player. On paper, they certainly need a forward more than we do, but Isak might suit our playing style more.

Rumours have emerged that the Liverpool recruitment team wanted to sign Isak the summer that we ended up bringing in Darwin Núñez, with Jürgen Klopp and Pep Ljinders reportedly preferring the Uruguayan. It is always worth taking such rumours with a pinch of salt, but it is a sign that the Reds have been interested in him for some time.

His injury record is a slight concern, having quietly missed a number of matches for the Magpies over the course of the season, but one of Slot’s major abilities is to keep players fit. It is more likely to be his fee that proves to be the stumbling block.

Hugo Ekitike

If Alexander Isak proves to be too expensive for Liverpool, then one of the alternatives that the Reds might consider is Hugo Ekitike. The French forward made his way up through the Reims youth system before playing for the first team, eventually earning a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Things didn’t really work out for him there, however, so he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2024, having spent a few months on loan there before that. Standing at six foot three inches, he could mix the height of Darwin Núñez with the deadly finishing of Diogo Jota in Liverpool’s front line.

One of the slight flies in the ointment of his potential signing might be the fact that the player himself has previously admitted to being a Manchester United fan. No one is perfect, though, and supporters would soon get over such a thing if he arrived at Anfield and started banging in the goals.

He has been in great form for his Bundesliga side, so it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world if Liverpool decided to bring him in as a potential replacement for Núñez. The big question is whether or not there is enough of a body of evidence that he has what it takes to do it consistently.

Bryan Mbeumo

There have been rumours about a move from Liverpool for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo for some time now, very much fitting into the box of ‘no smoke without fire’. One of the key facets to his game is the fact that he plays a lot like Mohamed Salah, meaning that he could be used in a similar fashion to the Egyptian King. On top of that, he can also operate in a central striker role, giving Slot more options in terms of getting the most out of his front line moving forward.

He is quick and smart and boasts the ability to beat a man, which sounds a lot like Mo Salah to me.

He has gone from strength to strength at Brentford, meaning that there is now more evidence of his ability to do it in the Premier League even once opposition clubs have learned what his strengths are. He is also still young, being the same age now as Salah was when he arrived on Merseyside. The player only has 18 months left on his contract, so Richard Hughes could be eyeing up a deal with Brentford for his services. If the Reds want to revamp their frontline, then Mbeumo could be an ideal acquisition, especially as Salah has now renewed his contract for two more seasons.

Mo Salah

Finally, a quick word for Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian King has now signed a two year contract extension and his goalscoring exploits even this season show that he’s still got it in him to play at the top for another couple of seasons.  Given how long the contract situation was drawn out for it feels as good as a new signing anyway.

The manager has been reluctant to drop him very often, but if we were to bring in someone like Mbeumo, then it would allow him to do so without weakening us too much. That in turn will mean that Salah is fresher for longer, which can only be seen as a good thing. He is nearing the end of his Liverpool career, but at two more seasons is sensible for all parties.