Liverpool now has 2 transfer priorities as Darwin Nunez secures $62M boost

With a deal worth around $62 million (£46 million) agreed for Darwin Nunez to join the Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, Liverpool is likely to dip back into the transfer market for attacking reinforcements.

And while it remains to be seen how easy it will be to convince Newcastle United to alter its stance on wantaway Alexander Isak, the Reds cannot afford to be left light on numbers in their forward line. Luis Diaz has already been sold to Bayern Munich and Federico Chiesa has not yet proven himself capable of stepping up on a regular basis.

If Chiesa leaves — and he has plenty of interest in Italy — then that would leave Liverpool with only Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo of last season's front six. Another signing, at least, would be required.

Of course, Liverpool has signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee that could reach $106 million (£79 million), and Florian Wirtz could be described as a forward rather than a midfielder. But Arne Slot will not want to be left short.

Equally, it is understood that Liverpool does not want to block the pathway of Rio Ngumoha, the breakout star of pre-season. Not turning 17 until later this month, though, it would not be beneficial to any party for him to be overly relied upon.

Even if Liverpool can sign Isak from Newcastle — and the player was training alone on Wednesday after missing the Magpies' trip to Asia this summer — then there is an argument for getting one more on top of that.

While no player will be signed without there being a proper plan in place, and anyone coming in just for the sake of it can be discounted, Liverpool won't want to be caught short.

Jeremie Frimpong has been put forward as one option who could deputize for Salah on the right wing at times. But with Conor Bradley currently sidelined through injury, the Dutchman can't fill in for both roles at once.

Salah, of course, will be heading off to AFCON mid-season. It is not beyond the realms of possibility to think that Frimpong might be required at full-back during that time too.

In Slot's first campaign in charge, injuries were kept to a minimum. But the situation may not be as smooth this time around, and Liverpool needs to ensure that it has enough quality options to cover all the minutes.

If Harvey Elliott leaves, amid interest from RB Leipzig, that will be another attacking player moving on. And Ben Doak, it is thought, has lots of interest from around the country too.

So whatever happens with Isak, selling Diaz and Nunez without someone else coming in would be a gamble, as good a talent as Ngumoha looks to be.

In addition to signing a center-back, with Liverpool down to three senior options in that position, adding at least one more attacker is a must. The September 1 deadline is now just 25 days away.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.